Dawn of Darkness
by VonPelt
Summary: When Harry invited Tonks to Slughorn's Christmas Party, he never expected to stumble into a relationship with his friend. Nor did he expect to be engulfed by a web of deceit and intrigues woven across Europe.
1. Unexpected

"You look absolutely stunning in that dress," Harry remarked hoarsely as he and his companion walked through the empty corridors towards the room Slughorn arranged for his holiday celebration. She was wearing a short, close-fitted dress which hugged every curve and revealed far more skin than the magical world deemed acceptable. She had picked her attire to see him flustered and that plan was working flawlessly.

"Tell me, why am I doing this again?"

"Because you are the only one I trust with this. I have no one else," Harry replied and flinched at how desperate that had sounded. He needed an adult to confide in and with Sirius dead, Hermione throwing a fit over the Prince's book and Katie in St. Mungo's, the list of alternatives was bleak.

"What about Remus?"

"Besides the fact that I won't turn up with a guy twice my age as my plus one? Lupin completely ignores me. The supposed best friend of my parents did never contact me. I have not spoken to him more than ten words after he resigned as Defence teacher. When I was forced into the tournament Sirius helped me despite being a wanted man. Sure, it wasn't much but he did as much as he could short of sneaking into Hogwarts. But Remus did nothing. Same story last year. For a supposed honorary uncle he sure treats me nearly as bad as my real uncle," he spat, slightly surprised at the bitterness in his voice.

"And to think I wasted half a year pining over him - Sorry I couldn't do more about your relatives. I tried, but by the time the Department of Inheritances acknowledged your emancipation you were already at the Burrow."

"Don't be, you tried at least. It's not your fault Dumbledore left me there and stalled the Ministry."

"I know. Still, I feel like I should have done more. I mean, the Order spent two summers watching you waste away there and nobody did anything to help you. And when you get the shit end of the stick, no one even told you that the Malfoys were trying to steal Sirius' estate."

"The Order doesn't give a fuck about me, but you did. You did more than anyone else, more than my friends - although to be fair to Hermione, she at least remembered that phones exist. But you, you talked to me when everyone else was ignoring me again when my friends left me to rot at that hellhole. You thought me Occlumency. You decided to waste an evening by coming to this party. And did I mention that you look lovely tonight?" Harry said as he once more tried not to stare at the woman next to him. They had helped each other dealing with the Battle of the Ministry during the summer and became friends through that, but that didn't mean that he was blind.

"Only three times so far," came the smug reply.

"You know Nym - "

"Don't call me Nymphadora," Tonks threw in, her hair switching from electric blue to a fiery red before both started laughing. At some point during the last summer, they reached an agreement that Harry was allowed to call her Nym in private and her usual reaction became a silly inside joke that made no sense whatsoever, yet made both of them smile like loons.

"You are far less intimidating in a dress that switches its colour to match your hair."

"I could be naked and you'd be trembling with fear. Alright, maybe not fear - But that's not the point, I can't even stay mad in this dress. It ruins my terrifying reputation."

"Definitely not out of fear," Harry mumbled under his breath before dropping down in a theatrical bow. "You know, _she-who-must-not-be-named_ , that I never imagined you wearing a dress and matching heels?"

"I like that name. And the heels are not the only matching thing I'm wearing," she whispered and laughed when he became even redder in response. "So what exactly are we doing here?"

"It's rather complicated, but I really need someone to talk to," Harry admitted. He had stopped in front of a shortcut but made no move to open it.

"To talk?"

"Look, I - there is a lot going on and I need to get some of it off my chest. And I could use some womanly insight."

"So, besides the usual stuff, what got your knickers in a twist?" Tonks wanted to know. Catching the hidden meaning in his words, she quickly erected a privacy ward around them.

"Well, I'm feeling odd whenever I'm around Hermione or Ginny - "

"Is that _oddity_ located in your pants?"

"Not like that - at least not when it comes to Hermione."

"But?"

"She - I - It's just - " Harry trailed off and ran his hand through his hair, trying to find some words for his thoughts. "Ever since the Battle in the Ministry, I feel weird around her. A part of me just wants to wrap her in plates of armour and send her to Australia, even though she would flay me for even suggesting that."

"That almost sounds like you're describing a family member - "

"But she can be so frustrating - "

"Correction, that sounds exactly like family."

"You know, that kinda makes sense. She used to mother me a lot - " Harry trailed off and thought back to his first few years in Hogwarts. "The funny thing is that she had pretty much always been right and it would have been better if we had simply listened to her. But where's the fun in doing homework as soon as it was assigned, or preparing months in advance for some stupid test?"

"Please don't remind me of the NEWTs, living through those once was more than enough!"

"You got top marks - "

"Yes, but unlike you I actually put some work into getting good grades. You know being a Badger and all that."

"Look at Miss Model Student over here - "

"Oi, I said that I put some work in, but that didn't stop me from smuggling in booze, or seducing some young and innocent soul."

"You were young and inno- you were young as well."

"You're the one to talk. I bet you could talk at least half of the girls out of their knickers if you tried. Being the Chosen One comes with its perks, you know?"

"If only. Last year with Cho - She just wanted to talk about Cedric and cried a lot. I mean, I understand where she was coming from - "

"But crying ruins the mood?"

"Pretty much," Harry replied and ran a hand through his hair. "With the others gone, Katie and I got along nicely, but then Malfoy got her into St Mungos and - well - "

"So what's that about Ginny?"

"Well, she is - pretty I guess. Nice hair, cute eyes, pert arse - But it feels different than my other crushes," Harry admitted and his face became even redder.

"More serious?"

"Yes - No - I don't know. With Ginny, I feel like I should scare off her boyfriend, or look at her, but - well I don't want to ravish her or anything."

"That's a love potion alright, or maybe a jealousy one - "

"Love potion? I know Mrs Weasley used them, but Ginny? That doesn't sound like her at all," the Gryffindor pointed out. Ginny had grown into a good friend over the years, and while she used to have a crush on him, she also had been as subtle as a tank crashing through Privet Drive.

"It doesn't have to be her. Someone could try to frame her, or it could be a Death Eater plot - "

"A love potion is a Death Eater plot?"

"They could make you fall for Ginny only to kill her in the most gruesome fashion, together with her family, only to fuck with your head."

"They'd do that?"

"The Death Eaters - they are really _vile_. Not just _maim and kill_ bad, but really the worst humanity has to offer. Moody told me about the atrocities censored out of the official reports, and let's just say that making a father rape his daughter after they took turns was some of the tamer shite they did. There was a reason why Mad-Eye killed every single one he could get his hand on," Tonks spat, her hair now pitch-black with blood-red streaks.

"I thought he had a reputation for bringing them back alive."

"Yeah, the inner circle since those actually knew stuff and could be _interrogated_. But the idiots who were just in for their sick, sadistic wish-fulfilment? He buried a hundred of those fucks."

"Good riddance to bad rubbish."

"I'd drink to that, but we haven't found the bar yet."

"Patience is a virtue - "

"Yes Mum. Anything else on your mind or can we work on getting hammered?"

"Well - Dumbledore wants to keep this secret, but I know when I need help - Do you know what a Horcrux is?"

"Eh, should I?"

"Not really. The question was rhetorical," Harry explained lamely. "Uhm, anyway, a Horcrux is something that anchors part of your soul in this world. As long as you have one you turn into a fancy ghost when you die and can be brought back. That's what Voldemort did. Apparently, Slughorn told him something about them and now Dumbledore wants me to get that memory."

"And how should you do that? I swear that curse is turning him senile."

"Apparently Slughorn liked my Mum. So now I have to suck up to him to get him talking," Harry said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. He didn't like using his parents for anything and yet, Dumbledore had left no room for debate.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen. If one of the most powerful wizards since Merlin and second best Legilimens in Britain can't get that memory, you don't even have to try. And especially not by sucking up. Better not waste your time on that."

"But -"

"No buts Harry. Well, maybe I'll let you touch mine later but that's not the point now. You need to take a break. If you need to talk about serious stuff, I'll still be around tomorrow and we can deal with your problems then. Tonight, 's just me and you. Slughorn paid for food and booze so let's have some fun," Tonks suggested to a red-faced Harry. Apparently thinking of her butt had that kind of effect on him. Frankly speaking, he didn't catch much of what she said after touching her backside.

"Somehow I doubt Slughorn will allow me to have fun," Harry mumbled darkly as they entered the room. Sure, the ceiling was covered in magical ice that somehow had snowflakes falling out of it and the large Christmas tree in the corner was delightfully decorated, but he still felt like he had just walked into a trap.

"Harry my boy, splendid to see you. And who is your lovely companion?" the Potions professor asked from right next to them before they could even attempt to disappear into the crowd.

"Good evening Professor Slughorn, meet Dora Tonks," Harry said and awaited his friend to complain about her name. She looked rather pensive for a moment but snapped back to reality before he could ask what she had been thinking about.

"Good evening Professor."

"My, my, I certainly don't remember you from any class. In which year are you dear?"

"Hufflepuff class of '92. I would be surprised if you knew me."

"Well Harry, I never knew you were hunting for older women. Quite a catch you have there. She looks like a keeper. Enjoy the evening," the old teacher stage whispered and winked, unaware how close he just avoided being cursed. Had Tonks been a Veela, the teacher would be dodging fireballs by now.

"Nym, forget that idiot," Harry attempted to calm his friend. Since she was not at all relaxing he figured that more words were needed. "You are a precious friend who helped me when I was in a bad spot. You are anything but a trophy to me, no matter what the others say. And you are not old."

"I know Harry, I hoped that I could go an evening without that shit but it was not meant to be. I really should be used to it by now," she huffed.

"You shouldn't have to get used to this."

"Yeah, tell that to the idiots. I - I just didn't expect that from a teacher. Well, other than Snape of course. He's just an arsehole."

"Come on, let's get something to drink instead of thinking about Snape. After all, Slughorn is paying the bill," Harry suggested, repeating her previous sentiment.

"Hmm, get insulted to get free drinks. Doesn't sound that bad, to be honest. Let's get Caipis?"

"What's that?"

"A cocktail. It's basically limes, sugar and Brazilian rum on ice. One of the few Muggle drinks you'll get in the magical world. Trust me, you will like it."

"Should I be drinking that?"

"Merlin kiddo I never thought a teenager would care about that. Are you telling me that you never had a drink?" Tonks asked in disbelief, even stopping on her way to the drink table. "Surely the Twin menace smuggled some Firewhiskey in once or twice."

"Nothing besides butterbeer."

She stared at Harry for ten seconds before rapidly blinking several times and mumbling a curse at the Dursleys.

"Helga's saggy tits. Harry you are supposed to have some fun in your life. Between the Dark Lord and what you have been through I sometimes forget that you are just sixteen. Slughorn didn't put all that booze here just to decorate the table over there. At least half of the students are underage and no one cares - Next thing you tell me that you have never been inside a broom closet with a pretty girl."

"Ehm, about that - "

"Fuck me sideways," Tonks groaned before pressing herself to Harry's side and leaning in so that her mouth was less than an inch from his ear. "Are you playing for the other team?"

"What? No! But - it's complicated. Well, not the boy thing, I like girls. But no one wants to date me. Everyone wants the bloody boy-who-lived. They want the bragging rights of being with THE Harry Potter. Two years ago they hated me before loving me. Last year it was hate again. And now I am drowning in candy laced with love potions and apparently, someone managed to slip me some. I only ever had one date and that ended disastrously. At least last year most people hated me," Harry defended himself, distracted by the rather sudden contact which left his arm between her breasts. Somehow during their time spent together the topic of relationships had never been mentioned outside of a few jokes.

"I've met a few of those. Not everyone, mind you, but you'd be surprised what some people blurt out when their blood is elsewhere. This has been one of the better dates so far, even though you're allowed to look if she's hanging on you like this," Tonks whispered in a husky voice and Harry shivered when he felt her breath on his left ear. She pressed herself a little further against his left and the Gryffindor couldn't stop himself from looking down the low cut dress, seeing black lace between the red fabric and her pale skin.

Harry was about to point out that this was not a date when he realised the implications of her teasing tone. Tonks had been a good friend and they spent a lot of time together during the last summer. She had been a ray of hope in his holiday prison. At some point, the platonic affection developed into something different, into a rather long-lived crush. And now she gave him an opening. Therefore it was time to do what he was best at, improvisation.

"Nym, you are one of the most amazing women I know. You are kind, funny and loyal to a fault. You tried to get me away from the Dursleys. You really care. Anyone who doesn't see that but only a pretty face is a fool. Besides, your usual looks are far more interesting than the twentieth girl trying to copy the Witch Weekly cover model."

"You sure know how to make a girl feel special," Tonks remarked only half sarcastically as she grabbed two orange glasses filled with a clear liquid and lots of ice.

"Cheers!"

The beverage tasted strange but good, was sweet for a moment before the alcohol kicked in. Then sweet again, when he got to the sugar at the bottom of the glass. But overall it was pleasant and not painful.

"That's some good stuff," Harry admitted, having neither experience nor knowledge when it came to drinking. But his cocktail was tasty after all.

"Not bad, but I make a better one."

"You can fix cocktails?"

"At least the basic ones. I've been told that my _Sex on the Beach_ is to die for," Tonks purred and he was quite sure that it was impossible to get any redder. "'S certainly easier than Snape's NEWT class."

"I'm still surprised that you managed that without blowing up the classroom."

"Just because I'm a clutz does not mean that I can't brew a potion."

"You nearly burned down your kitchen while making noodles!"

"That only happened three times - And I really shouldn't have told you about that," Tonks pouted, adorably pushing out her lower lip. Harry retaliated by poking her side. This resulted in a tickling war certainly neither befitting their age nor their location.

"Let's dance," Tonks suggested breathlessly after dodging Harry's finger for the twentieth time. Using his forward momentum and the alcohol's slight buzz she manoeuvred him into the base position for a waltz.

"I can't dance!"

"Neither can I. But it will be fun, you'll see."

Harry's groan of protest was ignored as Tonks dragged him to the dancefloor. Placing one of his hands back on her hip she started leading him across the floor.

* * *

It was nothing like the Yule Ball. Dancing there had been stiff and formal while here he was just randomly swaying with the music and simply avoiding stepping on her feet. Less than a dozen couples were dancing, everyone else just sat back, busy stuffing their faces. There were quite a few guests old enough to have children or even grandchildren, who, save one pair, preferred to mingle. A lot of people were staring at them, some even shamelessly pointing their fingers. For Harry, that was just an average day in Hogwarts.

"Thanks for coming with me here. Without you Slughorn would probably parade me around like a trophy and insist on introducing me to everyone," he said quietly as the song ended. It had been far better than he expected, relaxing and not at all awkward or embarrassing. Apparently dancing was more enjoyable if you focused on your partner instead of staring at the girlfriend of the guy next to you. Also, the booze helped to take away some of the inevitable tension.

"Just so you know, I'm taking you to the next stupid Ministry function I have to attend."

"As long as we actually get to dance and I don't have to deal with three hundred fans who want to have an autograph. I would never have thought that dancing could be fun," Harry admitted. He was sure that they were missing the tact and were not even aware of the proper steps but that was half the fun. Not caring about anything else, forgetting the war and the expectations for a moment.

"Yes, especially when your partner is not groping you. Although that can be quite enjoyable in a more private setting," Tonks huskily whispered into his ear and Harry could feel his face heating up. He needed a comeback, quickly.

"I might take you up on that."

"Promises, promises," she replied and Harry was not sure who won that exchange but he had a feeling that it was not him.

The next song was a slower number and Tonks pulled him closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Nym, when I called you Dora earlier you kinda froze. Is there a story behind that?" Harry asked softly.

"You - You used to call me that."

"I can't remember that," he admitted. They talked a lot during the last summer, trying to cope with the debacle at the Ministry but not once did he use that nickname.

"Of course not, you were bloody one. Actually, it was more Doaaa than Dora but still. That brought back a couple memories."

"You knew me before?"

"It never came up? Guess I was too busy poking around in your head then. Mum used to babysit you once or twice. I don't remember a lot, but I think we are the only ones who have a nude picture of the chosen one."

"Nude picture?" Harry stuttered.

"It was after your first birthday, dad bought an inflatable pool and since no one of us had any swimwear nearby we simply went naked. Of course, there were only three inches of water inside since neither of us could swim back then."

"So you have baby pictures of me?" he groaned.

"Mum has three albums full. She always liked you. Even tried to gain custody of you a couple of times."

"We could have grown up together?"

"Maybe. Dumbledore could have placed you with my mum since we are actually your closest living relatives. Well, we and the Malfoys."

"Another thing to add to the long list of Dumbledore's failings," Harry bitterly spat, missing the fact that most, if not all magical courts would have decided in Malfoy's favour.

"But if we would have grown up as siblings we couldn't be dancing like this. And at least he's giving you private lessons," Dora pointed out when the next song began, trying to calm him down and pressing even more into Harry, long past the limits of decency.

"Where I don't learn a single thing. He just shows me a couple of memories of Voldemort's past."

"That's all? Dumbledore's fabled lessons are the reason for dozens of rumours down in Hogsmeade. Everyone thinks you are being trained in advanced battle magic or that you are his apprentice. But the old fucker only shows you a Dark Lord home movie? Doesn't he care about the prophecy at all? You need a way to kill him, not a sob story."

"He still thinks that the power is love. Because I'm sure that snogging Voldemort is the way to defeat him," Harry replied, immensely glad for the privacy charms still surrounding them. "Not like I know the first thing about it."

"I'm sure that there's more than one witch who could help you learn."

"A quick shag between Defence and Charms is not love. That's pretty much all I know," Harry replied, missing the obvious invitation.

"What about Hermione? Surely she could be persuaded for some learning experiences."

"I'm not sure. I mean, from what we've established before I basically see her as mother substitute - "

"That just makes it kinky."

"I mean, she is pretty, but I've never felt like shoving her against the nearest wall and snogging her senseless."

"Ah, a true romantic," Tonks sniggered but Harry didn't feel like joking.

"You know, I would have loved to just do that. But no, a normal girlfriend is too much to ask for. Last year my only date ever was cut short because I had to give that interview to the Quibbler and Cho only wanted to talk about the boyfriend Voldemort murdered right in front of me. Then Malfoy nearly kills the girl I wanted to ask out and now the Ginny thing is just someone fucking with my head."

"And I thought my dating experiences were a nightmare. Seriously, how aren't you insane already?"

"I ask the same question every day."

"Then let's deal with that tomorrow," Tonks threw in with an unexpected, upbeat tone. "You need a break from the war and others fucking you over or you'll end like Frank Jenkins. Poor bloke tried to win the war on his own and pulled more overtime than the rest of the department. He snapped after three months and ended up in St. Mungos. We want to keep you out of there, right?"

"But how can I take a break when people are dying?" Harry asked hesitantly. A day off sure sounded nice but everyone waited for him to kill Voldemort, who would not wait to consider the Gryffindor's feelings.

"Ask yourself, what would you achieve if you were not here tonight."

"Harry my boy, are you enjoying yourself," an unwelcome voice interrupted them once more.

"Yes Professor, we are having a great time," Harry replied truthfully. He invited Tonks because he needed someone to confide in but her idea of a carefree evening has been great so far. And holding her close while slowly swaying across the dancefloor made him feel strangely invincible.

"You never mentioned that you had connections with the Aurors."

"Well, Tonks is an old friend. We are actually fourth cousins through House Black," Harry explained.

"Ah, so you are trying to strengthen the house. Well, if you need any potion to help with that feel free to ask me," Slughorn said happily before he wandered off towards Neville Longbottom and his date. When he was out of earshot Tonks burst out laughing.

"What?" Harry wanted to know, obviously missing the joke.

"Well, your teacher basically congratulated you for getting some with your cousin and offered you potions that improve your _endurance_ and _virility_."

"Dora, I don't want to shag you because you are my cousin," Harry immediately replied before he realised how wrong that sounded. "And I don't need that kind of potions."

"But you want to shag me?" Tonks teased, barely suppressing her laughter.

"Well, yes - no," he stuttered while turning redder than the Hogwarts Express.

"So I am not shaggable?"

"No, I mean yes, ehm - Look, any bloke would be lucky to go out with you. Hell, I'm still surprised to be on a date with you. A bunch of Veela courtesans could walk in and you'd still be the most attractive person here," the Gryffindor said and felt like he was digging his hole deeper and deeper.

"More attractive than a troop of Veela whores? I think that you finally lost it," Dora laughed. Harry surely had a way with words. The thought was nice but he certainly had to work on the delivery. And yet it was strangely endearing, reminding her of her Hogwarts days, of easier times. It was a paradox really, whatever happened between Harry, his mother and Voldemort, gave the magical society peace for more than a decade and at the same time, he was a symbol of the fight against the pureblood fanatics under Voldemort's banner and yet to her he was the exact opposite.

"Well, to me at last. I mean sure, twenty half nude blondes are certainly attractive, I'm not denying that. But I don't know any of them and I know you. Like I said earlier, you are the quintessential Hufflepuff. You are kind, loyal and hardworking. You are funny and honest. If a pepper-up potion had a sound it would be your laughter. And your hair can lighten up even the darkest clouds," Harry stated passionately although he wondered where exactly that came from. Sure, he had always liked Tonks but usually, his thoughts were far from that level of sappiness.

The metamorph looked at him strangely for a moment, like he was an especially difficult riddle. They locked eyes and Harry could see that she was furiously thinking before shrugging.

"Fuck it."

In one fluid motion, she grabbed him by the neck, took one step forward and slammed her lips onto his. Harry was stunned for a moment before his instincts took over. The same instincts that preserved mankind for thousands of years. As far as kisses went, this was new to him. Cho had been insecure and hesitant, not to mention crying. The Gryffindor chasers had always been friendly and chaste, a playful peck on the lips after winning a game. Tonks, on the other hand, was aggressive, if not outright domineering. A bright fire was burning in her purple eyes and held him captive as they slowly became brighter and the pleasant warmth which spread through his body was entirely unrelated to the drink he has had.


	2. Interrupted

Just as Harry got over his initial shock, closed his eyes and started to kiss back, Tonks broke the kiss and pushed him away. Initially, he felt hurt because his dazed mind took a second to realise that she was not playing some kind of wicked game. Tonks had spun around, drawn her wand and, for some reason, levelled it on a group of people in the far end of the room.

Suddenly a wave of previously ignored sounds washed over him and he became aware of the commotion in the corner. Within fifteen seconds every eye in the room was focused on the three people.

A shocked and yet angry Hermione Granger was standing next to a fuming blonde whom Harry believed to be Penelope Clearwater. She was wearing a black cocktail dress and had her hair in a pixie cut, which was a huge contrast to the proper, studious head girl he remembered. Despite her petite form, the witch towered over Cormac McLaggen, Gryffindor reserve keeper and all around arse. The young man with the impressive physique of a bodybuilder was lying on the floor, clutching his face while blood dripped out of his cupped hand and onto his midnight blue dress robes.

"You will pay for that. I have friends within the ministry. When the Aurors are done with you, you won't be able to show your face in a Knockturn Alley whorehouses," McLaggan snarled, spattering blood across the floor.

"Why don't we let the Aurors decide that?" Tonks asked, calmly walking over to the trio. With her hair and dress turned into a fierce red she looked like she was about to grievously injure someone.

"And who the fuck are you? Having nice tits doesn't give you a voice here," the man on the floor sneered while he focused on Tonks or her breasts at least. The continuous attention on her curves made Harry feel uncomfortable and he had to suppress the urge to hit him as the former Ravenclaw had done. Then again, his date was not exactly a damsel in distress but rather someone who would wipe the floor with him.

"That's Auror First Class Tonks to you boy. Now, why doesn't somebody tell me what happened here?" she asked while glaring at Cormac.

"You an Auror First Class? Sweetie, you have to be much older for that. Twenty years of service at least. You might be a secretary or a clerk but not an Auror First Class. No way I'm falling for that trick."

"She got that promotion for killing Travers, duelling Bellatrix Lestrange to a standstill and I don't even want to know what her curse did to Malfoy's balls - "

"Bone exploding curse. I guess he has scrambled eggs now."

"...so I'd be careful what you say next blondie. Ask Antonin Dolohov what happened to the last guy who had a go at a girl I like. Oh wait, you can't," Harry threw in causing a murmur pass through the crowd around them. Most of them were aware how little had been left of the Russian wizard.

As the adrenaline slowly lost its effect, the reserve keeper realised the predicament he found himself in.

"So, what happened here?" Tonks asked once more.

"We were talking about the Clearwater factor which is the result of Miss Clearwater's research on rune conductivity of various materials when he walked over and groped us both," Hermione began explaining.

"I decked him for that," Penelope added, unable to suppress the mirth in her tone.

"I see. You could file a complaint about Mr McLaggan here but I doubt that it would stick. And I think he already learned his lesson. That was a nice punch by the way, where did you learn that?"

"I have been taking boxing classes during the summer holidays since my fourth year, Penelope Clearwater, pleased to meet you."

"Hello Miss Clearwater, hi Hermione."

"Please, it's Penny."

"Well, I'm still Tonks. If you were named Nymphadora you would prefer your last name, too."

"And I thought Penelope was bad," she laughed while McLaggan used the shifted attention to sneak away. The crowd snickered as they returned to their previous conversations.

"I've heard some stories about you," Penny said carefully.

"Rule of thumb about rumours and me. The ones about girls are accurate. The ones about boys are made up."

"So you and Professor Babbling?"

"Yeah, although it's not nearly as scandalous as you might think. We already had a thing in her seventh year and then we just continued from thereon. It's not my bloody fault that my then-girlfriend graduated and became a teacher at my school. Although her detentions were very interesting - "

"Tonks, what are you doing here? I didn't know you were invited," Hermione interrupted, clearly not interested in tales about the sexual escapades of her Runes teacher.

"Well, Harry here was in dire need of a date and I graciously agreed to help him out."

"I didn't hear you complain when you kissed me," Harry threw in before he realising what he just blurted out.

"I didn't know you two were going out. Harry, why didn't you tell me?" Hermione hissed.

"That happened literally a minute ago. And you were a little preoccupied with decking McLaggan."

"I didn't deck him, that was Penny."

"And you were having a front-row seat. Hey Penny, would you mind getting close and personal with Malfoy or Snape? That was one hell of a punch."

"Is Malfoy still the same whiny idiot he was three years ago?"

"He's worse now. Has been acting strangely ever since he became a Death Eater," Harry replied darkly.

"Please not this again. You have no proof that he actually is one. He's far too young."

"Wait, wait, what? You think Malfoy is not a Death Eater? The same Malfoy who wanted to kill all Mudbloods in his first year if I remember his rants correctly?" Tonks challenged.

"Those were just empty words. He's too young. He didn't even finish his education."

"So? Hermione, fifty years ago people in your age were defending the Isles against the Third Reich. And what use are NEWTs for murder and torture?"

"But Voldemort wouldn't - "

"Don't presume you know what Voldemort would or would not do," the still red-haired witch hissed. While Harry usually was not happy when someone, Ron in most cases, took that tone with his best friend, this topic was an exception. He had tried again and again to reason with Hermione but she, like everyone else, would not see the obvious. Maybe the not so gentle approach would yield better results but the middle of a crowded Christmas party might not be the best place to discuss the war. Especially when both sides knew far more than the public. This problem, however, was resolved immediately and Harry noticed a faint shimmer in the air around them. Somebody had just cast wards around them. Judging by her wink and the drawn wand, that somebody was Penelope.

"But Dumbledore wouldn't let him into Hogwarts if he was a Death Eater," Hermione replied weakly.

"Like he kept Snape out of Hogwarts? The same Snape who confessed to twelve counts of murder and seventeen rapes as well as accessory to countless more? The same guy who tried to get an innocent man executed due to a childhood rivalry. The one who decided to abuse your best friend for five years because he didn't get the girl twenty years ago? The Snape who got Harry's parents killed?" Tonks snarled, her hair pulsating in deep shades of red, giving it a blood-like appearance. If she would have been mad at him Harry would be sweating bullets. As a mere bystander, however, he simply appreciated how incredibly hot Tonks looked like this.

"Is that true?" the scientist next to him asked.

"Straight from his trial records."

"I always thought that he was a bad teacher and a horrible person but still, a Death Eater - "

"He only avoided Azkaban because Dumbledore got him off as Chief Warlock."

"Well, I'm glad I'm gone from here but that man still ruins the mood. Three minutes ago we were talking about sexual fantasies. Now my date and your date are about to draw their wands," Penny said nonchalantly and Harry felt his mind come to a total halt. It was becoming a regular occurrence this evening.

"Date?"

"Well, she didn't use the term per se, but I noticed how often she looked at my tits. Do you think there will be a catfight? Maybe we should grab some popcorn."

"Sexual fantasies?" Harry asked, still stuck on her previous statement.

"Yes, for example, did you know how many knickers you got wet after displaying that bit of Parselmagic back in your second year? Granted, you were a bit younger than I was comfortable with but many didn't care. After all, you are Harry Potter, the hero extraordinaire."

"What?"

"Or did you know that Hermione always wanted to have all her holes filled at once? Imagining how much fun she could have with a Devil's Snare?" Penny's delivery was completely deadpan but she couldn't stop the corner of her mouth from jerking upwards.

"Damn, you had me there for a moment," Harry groaned while she burst out laughing. "Are you done having fun at my expense?"

"Well, I don't know about Hermione's secret fetishes, but what I said about your special gift wasn't made up. Parselmouths are popular in France exactly for that reason. The Veela clans of Burgundy would pay good money for your services."

"So you suggest that I should become a prostitute?" Harry replied while simultaneously thinking about the uses of parseltongue. Maybe Voldemort left him a useful gift after all. And judging by Tonks stories how her job has been under Fudge, maybe Veela exclusive prostitute was the better occupation as well.

"Well, I'd use the term 'call boy' myself but sure, whatever suits you. Being the boytoy for a bunch of gorgeous French certainly beats working for the Ministry. Bunch of bigoted dicks, the whole lot of them," the blonde spat and Harry guessed that she too has had some bad experiences with the Ministry.

"Shouldn't we try to - well, I don't know, stop them?" Harry asked, gesturing at the two witches in front of them.

"I think Hermione is mad that I've beaten her to the punch. She went for her wand but at that point, that moron was already down. Now she has some pent up aggression and no one but your date to take it out on," Penny observed casually.

"So we just sit back and let them rip into each other?"

"Yup," the blonde replied and summoned herself a cosy looking chair.

"So, uhm, what happened to Percy?"

"That arse had the great idea to marry straight after graduation. I never understood why wizards rush marriage but that's not the point. In his ideal marriage, I would be staying at home and we'd have two kids by now. Oh, and we would raise them the proper way without any corrupting influences. That was his code word for anything muggle, like electricity. Needless to say, I dumped him," Penny answered before starting to grin like a Cheshire cat. "He said that I would never get anywhere without him. Three years later and I am giving lectures at the Royal University of Bohemia while he is licking the _boots_ of some Ministry clerk."

"I never liked the prat - "

"Looking back I don't understand it either."

Meanwhile, Tonks appeared to have run out of patience. "Listen, you think that everybody should follow the law, right?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you for the last five minutes," Hermione replied in her usual lecturing tone.

"So you agree that we should hang all Death Eaters? Great."

"Yes. Wait, what?"

"Well, the Death Eaters want to rule a muggle free Britain by killing them all. That means they are levying war against the Crown. That is High treason. According to the laws of the land, there are gallows waiting for anyone guilty of that crime. Now if you excuse me, I'll go back to snogging my date senseless."

With that Tonks spun around, grabbed Harry's wrist and pulled him back towards the dancefloor. Seeing that she was still seething with anger, the Gryffindor decided to use a trick he discovered during his disastrous time with Cho Chang. As Harry drew small circles on the back of Tonks' hand he felt her grip loosen while the blood-red hair slowly grew and faded to a rich purple.

"What got you so worked up?" he asked carefully while taking the stance he had been taught for the Yule Ball. However, Tonks was not in the mood for formal dancing but simply pulled Harry into a tight embrace and began swaying left and right.

"It's just, Hermione is driving me mad. How can a girl get petrified by a giant snake and fight her way through the Department of Mysteries but still be so naive? Does she not realise that there are people in your age who already killed others? People, who kill for petty reasons? She's not taking the war seriously and that's what gets people killed. That's what got the Longbottoms tortured into insanity. "

"I killed Quirrel when I was eleven," Harry argued, playing devil's advocate while enjoying holding Tonks close more than he probably should. She was six years older and had a lot more experience, there was a war hanging over them and the Prophet would probably have a field day once they got some pictures. And yet all that he could think of was their short kiss and that she smelled of exotic fruits and cinnamon.

"That was self-defence and not murder. Mum told me some stories about her childhood and those were no pretty tales. House Black had marriage contracts with both the Lestranges and the Malfoys. Since she was the eldest she was given the choice between the three of them. Both families tried to woo her by proving that they are upstanding members of our society -through murdering muggles. The Lestranges were thirteen at that time, Malfoy fourteen. That was murder, not burning some fool hosting Voldemort's ghost," she whispered in return and once again rested her head on his shoulder.

"What about the underage magic restriction?" Harry asked weakly.

"The Ministry can't track cursed daggers or poison. And even if they used magic, a small donation would fix that. 'S a sad state of affairs in London and it's not getting better. To be honest, I am tired of their shit. The bureaucracy, the corruption, the discriminations - 'S just too much for me. I joined the Aurors because I wanted to help making Britain a better place. Instead, I spend more time with paperwork that ends up useless because people just bribe my superiors and the charges get dropped. As long as you don't kill another pureblood the Wizengamot doesn't care. And I am working for them. Each morning I struggle to get up and do my job because I feel like it's just not worth it. I help a system that is wrong. You heard that wanker, some friends in high positions and a generous donation and your case gets dropped," Tonks mumbled into his shoulder but the Gryffindor heard every word. He traced shapes onto her shoulder and she snuggled further into his side.

"So you want to quit?"

"I - I probably already have. When I kissed you earlier at least one of the people here left in a hurry and sold the story to the papers. That story will end up in the Prophet before Christmas titled _"Amoral Auror seduces our Hero"_ or some other crap. The Minister always thought that I was no Auror material and use will gladly use that as an excuse to fire me," Tonks explained nonchalantly.

"Why did you kiss me then? You will lose your job because of me. You will - " was all that Harry could say before the metamorph decided to silence him with a peck on the lips followed by several longer and more forceful kisses.

"I kissed you because I wanted to. I can honestly say that I no longer care about being an Auror or working for the Ministry. I have more than enough gold until I find something new."

"Why? What's that between us?" Harry wanted to know. Tonks was confusing him. A year ago she was happy being an Auror, taking pride from her work despite Fudge's idiocy, and now she wanted to toss away five years at the ministry because of him.

"Well, we are friends who are obviously attracted to each other. Don't deny it, I saw you checking me out all evening and I think you don't look bad either. We get along splendidly. We trust each other. That's a good place to start. I don't know where we will end up. We could be best friends, acquaintances, married, fuckbuddies or even mortal enemies ten years down the road. Only time will tell. But for now, let's have some fun before I show you the many wonderful things you can do in a broom closet," she smirked before introducing Harry to French kissing.

For him, it was simply wonderful. For the first time in years, Harry felt pure joy. It was not a tainted moment like his first Quidditch win because there was no assassination attempt this time, no dementor swarm trying to kill him, no forced participation in a bloodsport and no Umbridge. It was just him and the witch in his arms. Tonks was back to her domineering self and Harry just gave in. For once he didn't have to be the one in charge. He did not have to wear a mask but could simply savour the moment, get lost in the feeling of utter bliss as her tongue brushed over his, the taste of strawberries still on her lips. Applying slightly more pressure the former Hufflepuff pushed Harry further into her arms and nibbled on his lower lip. A strand of bubblegum pink hair fell over his eyebrow when they broke the kiss, foreheads resting against each others'. Opening his eyes Harry gazed into Tonks violet ones. He was still trying to process the last minute while unknowingly sporting a goofy grin.

"Bloody hell"

"Not bad for a first time. But they say practice makes perfect," Nym said softly before kissing him again. This time it was less needy and a lot gentler. She allowed Harry to take charge, amused by his inexperienced and yet highly enthusiastic response. It was like being a teenager all over again. Well, not that she was that old.

"Why are we doing this?" he asked breathlessly after they broke apart once more, her fruity scent predominant in his senses.

"Because it's fun," replied Tonks before turning towards the buffet. "Come on, let's get some food. You will need it later on."

While her response did not answer his question Harry found himself not caring why the metamorph decided to kiss him. Even if he couldn't understand it, the Gryffindor was not about to complain. And with Voldemort lingering like a dark shadow across magical Britain Harry was not sure when he would get another chance to enjoy a good time without worrying about the genocidal madman gunning for him. And at the moment he did not want to think about bald psychopaths when he could think about a certain witch that made him very happy and his boxers much tighter.


	3. The next day

Nymphadora Tonks woke up after the best night of sleep she had in a long time. While rarely suffering nightmares anymore, her sleep had lacked the peacefulness from before the Battle at the Department of Mysteries. The way the sunlight hit her face proved that it was already late in the morning and, as her senses slowly returned to a state of alertness, she realised that something was decisively different from the usual state of things in her flat. She was not alone in the bed, nor was she even in Hogsmeade. A head was cradled against her bare chest and black hair tickled her chin while her arm was slung across the midriff of her bedmate. Despite not immediately knowing who she was spooning, it still felt surprisingly good, almost natural. Only when the memory of the previous evening returned she became aware that the naked person in her bed was none other than Harry Potter, good friend and supposed saviour of magical Britain.

"So much for showing him the inside of a broom closet," she mumbled to herself after remembering her original intention for the evening. Truth be told, she did not expect to take him home and have her wicked way with the Gryffindor. But no plan survives contact with the enemy, nor with her libido and at least they ended up in her flat and not the Ministry appointed room in Hogsmeade. While slightly younger than her usual partners, Harry was definitely not a child as a certain sensational journalist was inevitably going to claim. The horrors he had to endure since Halloween '81 made sure of that, and the past two years had been especially hard on him.

After poking around inside of his head during the last summer, she had a pretty good idea who Harry Potter was and that he would probably latch onto any attention being given to him. He would probably want to turn this single night of debauchery into a regular thing and develop an emotional attachment along the way. Tonks found it slightly surprising that she was fine with this, but shrugged it off because, despite his lacking experience, Harry's parseltongue abilities were already far better than any magic wand and made up for his eagerness. And it helped that he was easy on the eyes, even though the young man was shorter than her.

The metamorph also knew that mind-blowing cunnilingus did not make a relationship. There would be a difficult road ahead of them. The hardships along the way included a genocidal madman out to kill them, Dumbledore's strange interest in Harry, a prophecy hanging over him with the public expectations resulting from it, Harry's baggage from the Dursleys as well as many of the small and big things that could make or break every relationship.

But when Harry turned in his sleep, snuggled further into her and a warm feeling spread throughout her body, Tonks knew that moments like these were the reason why she would bother with all those difficulties. It felt too right to simply ignore this chance, something that again surprised her. It usually took her longer to form attachments. On the other hand, Harry trusted her enough to allow her into his mind, which had been a first for her. There were very few things she did not know about him and few better ways to wake up. Her Auror duties along with Order business had left her with little time for romantic pursuits, but at least she did not have to worry about that anymore.

Thinking back to the previous evening Tonks briefly wondered if ditching these responsibilities had been the right choice. But considering the leaders and methods of both "light" alternatives, there was little to doubt. Not everyone was redeemable but if the guilty could bribe their way out of trouble, what was the point of catching them? And what was the old man smoking to allow marked followers of Voldemort into the castle? One student already ended up in St. Mungos and her assailant got away scot-free, enjoying the comforts of Hogwarts instead of the cell in Azkaban, which theoretically awaited everybody caught in the Dark Lord's service.

Still, she would need a job eventually, something quite difficult due to the overwhelming dread spread throughout Britain. Maybe she should have listened to Ashley's advice and followed her friend to Australia after graduation but Nym, being young and idealistic, had wanted to become an Auror, therefore, she had stayed. Looking back, that had not been one of her brighter moments. As a high ranking Auror, the metamorph earned a decent amount of gold and fucking the Chosen one was not against any regulations, therefore the Ministry would owe her a severance payment when they eventually got around to firing her. She should be able to enjoy a long vacation before deciding on the future. Add the money Sirius left her and the prospect of travelling the world did suddenly seem very tempting.

Harry disrupted her train of thought by unexpectedly squeezing her before slowly opening his eyes. After a moment of fanatic darting around they fixated on one of her nipples, inches away from his face. The equally naked Gryffindor stared at the nub with an expression of disbelieving amazement, which made her chuckle.

"Are you just going to look at my tits or should I hope for more?"

"Nym? Did we really - ehm - " Harry stuttered, blushing crimson and yet not looking into her eyes.

"Had sex? Well, I certainly hope so because I definitely want more of your magic tongue. Or is waking up on tits without actually getting laid something that happens to you regularly?"

"Uhm, no. But I could get used to this," he replied with a cheeky grin before his eyes lost focus and his attention returned to the rosy nub. Harry kept staring at her nipple like it was a priceless masterpiece. The intensity of his gaze sent tingles down her entire body before he snapped out of his trance and planted a trail of wet kisses across her breast until the Gryffindor ended up with her nipple between his lips, ghosting his tongue all across her areola. His curious exploration went on until Tonks slung an arm across his back to pull him closer, to get more skin contact. "Sor - Sorry. I - I don't - "

"S'right," Nym said before a predatory smile appeared on her face. "But you ought to remember that Hogwarts motto about waking dragons."

* * *

Later that day, once their lust was sated and replaced with another type of appetite, Harry tried to fix a meal with what little food was left in the flat. However, that task turned out to be difficult since most of the sparse ingredients to be found had expired months ago.

"Don't you have any food in here?" he grumbled, shifting through various boxes.

"There should be some instant ramen somewhere, but 's been three months since I was in here. And my favourite kitchen gadget is the phone to order takeaway."

"I thought you lived here."

"Not in a long time. This was a graduation gift from my parents but the Order wanted me at Grimmauld and then the Ministry decided that Hogsmeade was the place for me. Still, this flat might not be much, but 's mine."

"I thought the ministry paid your flat - Wait, we no longer in Hogsmeade, right?"

"No, this is Leeds, Number 96 Kirkgate to be exact. I thought you knew the secret."

"Secret?"

"This place is supposed to be under the Fidelius Charm."

"Like Grimmauld?"

"Exactly. Although if you didn't know this, how did you get in?"

"Uhm, you apparated us on the doorstep - I think."

"Hmm, I guess that's another way to share the secret," Tonks shrugged before mumbling to herself. "I should tell Moody, he'll want to know that. Would probably be something he'd see as a Christmas present."

"About what you said earlier - "

"About a repeat performance? As much as I'd like to, it's been more than twenty-four hours since my last proper meal and I'm famished."

"No, not that," Harry stuttered and blushed. "You said something about me staying here - "

"That was just a suggestion. If you'd like to stay at the Burrow - "

"No, anything but that. If I have to endure Ginny's or Mrs Weasley's remarks about Fleur one more time I am going to stab someone with a blunt spoon. I'd prefer staying at Number Twelve right now."

"That bad?"

"If they were just badmouthing her I could put up with it. But the Weasleys try to drag me into their arguments and to be honest I don't mind her."

"Well, Fleur is certainly easy on the eyes even I still don't understand what she sees in Bill. He's just a glorified grave robber with a wicked earring and a big cock - " At Harry's raised eyebrows she had to chuckle. "My friend Liz used to date him during his Gringotts training. I learned more sordid details about Weasley anatomy that summer than I'm comfortable with."

"Too much information."

"Please, as if your roommates never talked about the girls in your year, or at least their tits and butts."

"Don't remind me, you couldn't go ten yards without somebody talking about Fleur during the tournament. Matter of fact, Ron still starts drooling whenever she's around."

"Harry, I start drooling whenever she walks by. I mean, have you seen her arse? You could bounce a sickle off it and hit your eye."

"I like yours better."

"I swear to Merlin if this is the set up for another line about me and Veela courtesans you are sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad."

"No, it was worse," Tonks said with a withering glare. "But I guess I could be bribed to forget about it with some food."

A couple of minutes later, Harry served an Asian soup thrown together from several packages of instant ramen which probably included enough chemicals to be labelled as a pharmaceutical. Despite its artificial ingredients, it didn't taste too bad, the salty and hot flavours creating a pleasant mixture that was a welcome relief after two missed meals. Idle conversation filled the air until the lunch was eaten and Harry remembered something.

"Are there any clothing stores nearby? Most of my stuff is in Hogwarts, not that I'd want to wear it, and I don't trust these transfigured ones."

"I'll have you known that I could get a mastery in transfiguration if I'd bother to learn the theory. But I can't fault you for wanting something besides your ugly grey castoffs. Just walk down the road and you'll find anything, from fast food up to mobile phones and used computers. There ought to be some clothing in between. And remember to use a glamour, unless you fancy running from a horde of disappointed fangirls."

"Don't worry, I fancy someone else."

"Merlin Harry, that was sooo bad."

"And yet it makes you laugh," he pointed out and Nym's amused smile turned into a snort. This was exactly like her Hogwarts years.

"You get me there. Just don't make these kinds of remarks when somebody else is around or I'll die from embarrassment."

"Deal. Uhm, do you have any Pounds around here? I don't think that the stores here take Galleons."

"Sure, are a thousand quid enough?"

"A thousand? I don't think that I have that much gold with me," Harry pointed out before he noticed her amused look.

"You know that these coins are literally gold, right?"

"Yes - and?"

"Well, an ounce of gold is worth over 200 pounds. So you only need five Galleons for a grand."

"Wait, if five of them are worth a thousand pounds, how much is in my vault?"

"I don't know, probably several million."

"Millions?" Harry repeated dumbfounded.

"I've never seen the Potter vault, but most old families are swimming in cash."

"Millions? I knew I had some money, but millions?" he echoed with a hoarse voice before shaking his head. "Guess I'll have to visit Gringotts soon."

"And I'll have to get my stuff back from the ministry. No doubt they already cleared out the Hogsmeade flat."

"Are you alright with that?"

"Honestly, yes. It feels good to be out of that madhouse. The last few months were horrible with far too much unpaid overtime. Maybe I'll do something nice and quiet now."

"Nice and quiet? You?"

"I know it sounds impossible, but I'm actually a decent shop assistant. There's a small bookstore in Norwich that was quite pleased with my work during the holidays. I wonder if they are hiring - "

"Nymphadora Tonks as a clerk, that's something I want to see," Harry chuckled.

"Are you done laughing at me? I thought you wanted to get clothes that might not turn back into a sock."

"A sock?"

"Be glad it's not some of my "fuck me" thongs," Tonks shot back and her grin made him gulp. "Although you still need something to wear outside."

"Are you coming with me?" Harry quickly changed the topic.

"As much as I want to see you play dress-up doll, I have to see what happened to my stuff. You think you'll manage to buy some clothes on your own?"

"It can't be that difficult, right?" Harry said as Tonks disappeared around the corner to put on a couple of layers against the cold outside.

"That's the spirit - Fuck me!"

"What's wrong?" Harry wanted to know and followed her, dreading whatever she had found. As it turned out, a copy of the Daily Prophet was pinned to the front door. Floating above the paper was a message written in purple flaming letters, eerily similar to the ones used by the shade of Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. But unlike the Dark Lord, the author of this message turned it into an exercise in calligraphy

"Mum was here," Nym groaned after reading through the magical script.

"Your mother was here? So much for the Fidelius charm."

"She's the secret keeper, 'course she can get in. Anyways, we are invited to dinner later today so I guess she's fine with this. The Ministry already dropped off my stuff there so I don't have to pick it up from Hogsmeade. She asks if it was necessary to leave behind such a lasting impression but is glad I'm out of the Ministry. And apparently, running water is no substitute for a privacy charm," Nym laughed while Harry was mortified.

"She walked in on us?"

"No big deal, 's not like our relationship is a secret anymore," Tonks pointed out and gestured at the front page sporting a large picture of the freshly minted couple in a passionate French kiss above the headline _"The Hero and the Tart"._ She knew that her mother had been raised according to pureblood traditions and yet was doing her best to defy her upbringing. They walked in on each other often enough to dismiss any awkwardness, so it wouldn't be an issue. Well, besides the inevitable teasing. But Harry was not paying much attention to her at the moment, still shocked by the fact that his girlfriend's parent caught them red-handed.

"So much for first impressions."

* * *

Shopping in Leeds was not at all what Harry expected since it was not that different from his experiences in the magical world. Kirkgate was, like Diagon Alley, a road with stores on both sides. The area around Tonks flat was rather run-down and in dire need of new paint, making it quite surprising that the apartment was modern and clean. After finding out that her possessions were safe, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity and get herself new winter wear and make sure her boyfriend didn't commit too many crimes against good taste.

While the shops were not exactly Harrods, the pair still found the bought the foundation for Harry's new wardrobe in next to no time. Most of his new clothes were simple yet made an enormous difference in how Harry felt. Even plain jeans together with a simple t-shirt gave him an entirely different aura. Together with a new bomber jacket, he looked quite striking, at least in Nym's opinion. She was also glad that they were not awkwardly dancing around each other. While Harry was still prone to blushing he did not shy away from physical contact anymore. Then again, it would have been weird if he had issues touching after fucking her four times within the last twelve hours. Although he still was, at least in public, hesitant to move his hand lower than acceptable, she was sure that this too would soon change. She had that kind of effect on people.

* * *

Harry meanwhile was having a great time. It felt surprisingly freeing to no longer had to wear Dudley's castoffs. No more worrying about the embarrassing holes and patches was a pleasant feeling. And when the Gryffindor noticed the hungry look in Nym's eyes when he tried on a leather jacket a couple of stores later, he knew he had to buy it. Shopping with a girlfriend was an entirely new experience, one which turned out to be far better than anticipated. Instead of the tedious dress-up doll performance he ha dreaded, they walked into different shops and picked what looked nice. He had to try it once since they simply bought everything that had fitted him. It was strange not to care about money, but he had not thought much about the topic before. Frankly, he used to have other things on his mind, namely Voldemort, the annual attempt on his life and the odd event in between.

However, his new girlfriend had changed that. In some ways, Harry still couldn't believe that he actually has had sex, much less with whom. With Voldemort resurrected and his unwillingness to shag his "fan club", it was simply something that Harry thought to be very unlikely. On the other hand, Nym was one of the few people he would even consider to sleep with and she had always been very physical. It had been hugging last summer and now they were walking down a road, his arm slung across the small of her back, his hand resting on the side of her hip. It was difficult to resist the temptation to let the hand wander across those tight leather pants which he liked more and more with every passing minute and step.

On their way back to Tonks flat, they stopped at an old, ornate building. Harry had not paid much attention to it earlier, but now he noticed that it was not just a posh residence, but the entrance to some sort of market fair. By the looks of it, the present vendors were selling everything from food up to clothes and toys.

"Look Harry, we'll be living together for the next three weeks and I couldn't cook a decent meal if my life depended on it. Would you be alright taking care of our food if I gave you the money for it? It doesn't have to be a three-course menu but we can't live off instant food and takeout for nearly a month," she said quite enough for Harry to nearly miss it.

"Nym, you are letting me stay with you for free. It's the least I can do in return."

This reply earned a heartwarming smile followed by a fierce kiss that lasted until a farmer asked if they were buying anything. The Gryffindor blushed but Tonks merely shrugged before giving the old man a long list of vegetables they would need eventually.

Fifteen minutes later they left the market and crossed the few hundred yards to the flat with Harry still pondering about the rules of this new relationship. Nym didn't seem to be embarrassed by public displays of affection, or any other kind of public displays. No one in Gryffindor ever talked about that kind of thing, with "Don't kiss and tell" or "Fuck and brag" being the modi operandi. Before he could come to any conclusion, Tonks answered his unspoken question by shoving him against her flat's door as soon as it closed behind them. Sandwiched between the hardwood and his girlfriend, Harry lost the ability to think and relied on his senses instead. For a moment the taste of vanilla drowned out everything else before he got over the surprise and started to kiss back. With a surprising amount of skill, his hands found their way below three layers of leather and fabric, caressing the small of her back before disappearing below the waistband of her knickers. When Tonks gently bit down and sucked on his lower lip Harry couldn't stop the high pitched moan nor the buckling of his knees.

The metamorph giggled and broke the kiss but did not attempt to move, her forehead resting against Harry's.

"What was that for?"

"You are not the only one who is enjoying this Harry. I don't even know when I had that much fun before last night, which means it has been far too long ago. And while I would love nothing more than to make up for lost time these veggies won't unpack themselves."

Looking around Harry noticed several bags filled with food and clothes, all hastily thrown on the ground.

"You're right. How - how can I help?" Harry panted, still winded from their makeout session.

"I'll take care of the kitchen and you should remove the price tags from your new stuff. Just put it on a shelf in my bedroom, most should be empty."

"Anything else?" he asked, taken aback by her suggestion. Their relationship was moving fast, going from friends to sharing a closet within a day. They had not been an item for twenty hours and now they were not only sleeping together, but spending the holidays at her place. Then again, they were not some strangers who met, fucked and shared a flat within a day. He and Tonks had been friends first, had fought and bled together. Both saw each other at their worst in the aftermath of the Ministry Battle and an implicit trust had grown between them.

"How about a movie? We still have over three hours until we're due for dinner. Unpack your clothes, I'll set up the telly."

Twenty minutes later, Harry had worked through the venerable mountain of shirts, sweaters, hoodies, boxer shorts, trousers and outdoor wear. Due to discrete shrinking charms he had been unable to keep track of the purchases and was shocked by just how much they had bought.

"Come here," Nym said, patting the sofa right next to her. Harry followed her suggestion and an arm draped over his stomach, pulling him against her. The breasts pressed against his back felt heavenly while strands of her hair tickled his neck. "Merlin, I forgot how great this felt."

He hummed his approval and began to drift off, using her as a soft pillow that made him forget everything for a while.

* * *

However, good things did not tend to last long for Harry Potter and this rule was proven as soon as they arrived at the Tonks family home in Norwich several hours later. A grim-looking woman, whose dark, curly hair and aristocratic features looked made her look like a younger Bellatrix Lestrange, greeted them with the sharp words "You were there, right?"

"What are you talking about Mum?" Nym asked and Harry realised that the woman in the door had to be Andromeda Tonks. Despite knowing that she and Bellatrix were sisters, it was still a surprise just how close the resemblance was. The two differences he could spot were her slightly lighter hair and the warmth in her purple eyes, a stark contrast to Lestrange's mad glint. Well, that and the midnight blue Addidas tracksuit no Death Eater would ever wear.

"You did not hear about it?"

"Hear about what mum? We spent the last few hours cuddled up on the sofa, watching Home Alone. Although Harry napped through most of it."

Andromeda's face relaxed and any resemblance to her sister disappeared for a moment as she gave her daughter a tight hug and whispered: "I'm so glad that you are not involved in this."

With that she grabbed the Evening Prophet from a table next to the door and showed the front page to her two guests, a picture of Horace Slughorn smiling at them. Printed above it, in bold black letters, was the related headline.

 **HOGWARTS TEACHER MURDERED - OFFICE RANSACKED!**


	4. Warned

The article itself contained little information, a lot of speculation and therefore was a perfect example of how the Prophet's editorial staff worked. If there was not enough material, they simply added some speculations, accusations and slander. Dumbledore was senile, the Minister incompetent, Harry preferred to grope his no longer secret girlfriend over saving a professor in distress and the Aurors failed their duty to protect Hogwarts. Harry did spend the evening groping one of the Aurors assigned to Hogsmeade but in his opinion, he really couldn't be faulted for that.

"So they found Slughorn dead in his office, which had been looted by someone, everything else is guesswork," Nym concluded once her mother seated them at the dinner table and she snitched up the Evening Prophet.

"So, botched robbery or badly executed murder?" Andromeda wanted to know.

"Can't say from what we know. The sack and the murder might be unrelated or one was done to cover up the other."

"Are you saying the man was both robbed and killed on the same day in two separate events? That would be some rather spectacularly bad luck."

"Mad-Eye used to say that once is happenstance but the second time 's enemy action. From what I've seen yesterday, Slughorn was a man with many friends but he undoubtedly made some enemies along the way. The question is who would want him dead."

"I remember him from his time as Head of Slytherin. He was a master at pleasing both sides but he was could be very nosy. Maybe he learned something he was not supposed to know," the older witch speculated and immediately noticed that her daughter and Harry exchanging worried looks. "What do you two know?"

"Well - Fifty years ago Slughorn told Voldemort about some aspects of the Dark Arts - " the Gryffindor said carefully. "We do not know exactly what but Dumbledore says it is important."

"And now he wanted to tie up a loose end? But why only now? Why not two decades ago? Horace already worked for Dumbledore back then."

"This does not look like the handiwork of Death Eaters. They always torched the houses they looted and Hogwarts would be the one place you don't want to leave evidence behind," Nym replied. "Could greed have been the motive?"

"He liked to make bets when he had insider knowledge so maybe somebody lost a family heirloom and wanted it back, one way or another."

The speculation went on like this for another ten minutes until Andromeda served dinner. Harry, having never eaten quesadillas, found them a little odd but enjoyed the meal, at least until the Tonks women escalated their banter into innuendo. It felt very strange to hear his girlfriend praise his _broomstick_ while looking straight into her mother's eyes. The conversation became absurd when Andromeda thanked him for being a normal teenager and not some man older than her sister Narcissa, a werewolf with an inferiority complex larger than Big Ben or a Weasley using her daughter to hide his homosexuality.

"You are welcome," Harry replied after a moment of consideration.

"From what I have heard, Nymphadora was the one coming well," Andromeda quipped.

"Muuum, if you want to borrow Harry you just have to ask. No need to be obscure."

The said wizard could only stare at the two witches, his mouth gaping open. That suggestion sounded straight from Dudley's stash of porn, not something somebody would say in real life, much less his girlfriend. Only when they both burst out laughing he knew that he had been the butt of a joke.

"You - You should - You should see your face," Nym blurted out.

"Works every time."

"You are mean!"

"Guilty as charged. But how about I make it up to you with lots of cuddling once we get back home?"

"Cuddling you say? In that case, you are forgiven."

"Just how long has this been going on?" Andromeda asked and her daughter scratched her chin before replying nonchalantly.

"It's seven so I'd say around twenty hours, maybe twenty-two."

"But you seem so - so comfortable with each other."

"Well, we spent a lot of time talking during the summer after the fiasco in the Ministry and we've gotten to know each other pretty well through this. And I mean a lot. Like two month almost daily. Taking Harry home, however, was a spur of the moment decision. And it turned out more than alright," the metamorph replied and kissed her boyfriend's forehead.

"When I asked Nym to come with me I didn't even consider it to be a date, just an evening out with a good friend. We kinda stumbled into this relationship, not that I'm complaining."

"Is this the part where I am supposed to ask your intentions towards my daughter?"

"Mum!"

"Uhm, I'm really not sure. Your daughter said that we don't know what will happen in the future. I trust her, I enjoy her company, she makes me happy and the last twenty-four hours were some of the best I can remember. I don't have anything planned for the holidays, neither does Nym so we decided to spend them together. I'm really looking forward to that..."

"Harry, I was joking about the question. But that was a good answer nonetheless," Andromeda cut in gently.

"Really? I felt like a babbling fool."

"Oh, you were just that. But you gave an honest answer instead of saying what a mother would want to hear. Then again, I fear that Nymphadora is a bigger threat to your virtue than you to hers."

"MUUUM!"

* * *

Harry and Tonks spent the next day lazing around and barely leaving their bed. They alternated between enjoying their proximity in silence and talking in hushed tones and he already decided that this were the best holidays he ever had.

"Nym, can you wear your hair like this more often?"

"The colour or the style?"

"Silver is nice but the haircut is really awesome."

"You like one side chopped then? I had you booked for the long and silky type. Then again, no one expects Harry Potter to be the little spoon."

"Nym, you looked hot in Chudley orange, something I never imagined to be attractive after six years with Ron around. But it's not about looks, at least not really. You make these adorable sounds whenever I run my fingers through the short side and I can't get enough of them."

"I do not make adorable sounds," Tonks objected. "I am in no way adorable. I am fearsome and mysterious."

"Nym, most of the time you are fierce and a total badass. Hell, your have the better abs. But right now, burrowed under a blanket in a hoodie and sweatpants with your fringe falling over one eye you are utterly adorable. Besides, you called me cute yesterday!"

"You ARE cute."

With that she turned around and ended up with one elbow on each side of Harry, her breasts pressed against his chest, lips inches from his. When Tonks leaned forward, he closed his eyes in anticipation of a kiss that never came. Instead, the metamorph zeroed in on his throat and was delighted by the needy sound escaping him as she planted a love bite on the middle of his Adam's apple.

"See? Dorky and cute."

"I swear, if Voldemort would see me now he'd decide that the prophecy cannot possibly be about me," Harry mumbled with red cheeks.

"Don't be embarrassed because you like something. Chances are that I like it, or at least have heard of worse. I mean, I had a boyfriend who liked to get buggered and a girlfriend who was into lactation."

"Lactation?"

"Breastfeeding. I never thought people would get off from that but it was nice. Not something I'd do every day, mind you, but magic makes this kind of things very easy. You can do all sorts of transformations with Potions or self-transfiguration. Vampire fangs are amongst the easiest of those while Polyjuice has the widest range of uses. Just remember that the engorgement charm is not meant for human use."

This was the beginning of an impromptu lesson on the sexual uses of magic. At its end, Harry was blushing from head to toe and unable to even enter the Hogwarts kitchens without thinking that stroking a banana would have been a better way to open that door. He has had his share of fantasies, but besides a few involving his invisibility cloak, none of them were based on magic. Come to think of it, he really had not considered having a girlfriend, much less sex after the Valentine's Day debacle with Cho. Being the witness to a spectacular series of trainwrecks and not a single successful relationship, Harry thought them not worth the trouble, especially with Voldemort in the open. Oh boy, how wrong had he been.

"Nym - "

"Yes?"

"You're awesome. Like, really, really awesome."

She giggled in return and that sound made him feel all sorts of wonderful, warm and fuzzy.

"Please never change Harry."

Those four words were enough to put a grin on his face for the remaining day. They had probably not been meant to be meaningful, but that did nothing to diminish their impact. Tonks was aware of the issues he had, having seen most of them straight in his head. She knew of his inexperience and it did not discourage her. Endearing had been the term she used and if anything she seemed to enjoy his slight awkwardness. That acceptance felt better than winning the Quidditch Cup.

* * *

The next day brought two realisations. With Slughorn dead, Snape would most likely take over Potions. Really, why did the attacker had to kill the good Potion teacher when a perfectly killable Death Eater was just across the dungeons? Sure, there was the memory Dumbledore wanted, but it couldn't really be that important, right? Horcruxes might be arcane magic but a Potion Master could not be the only one with that knowledge.

Secondly, spending the Christmas Holidays with his girlfriend meant that Harry would need a Christmas present for her. But really, what was an appropriate gift for your friend and lover? Jewellery? Perhaps a nice ring - No, that was just asking for a terrible misunderstanding. He thought about the presents he had received in the past, but neither a sweater nor sweets sounded like a proper present for the person you shagged. Having run out of ideas Harry concluded that there was only one choice. Going to Diagon Alley and enduring the reporters just waiting to ambush him. His relationship still was page two material and only the murder of Slughorn pushed it from the front page. A glamour could help there but they were useless in Gringotts and the Alley was going to be full of people so his invisibility cloak was out as well.

"Any ideas how I can get to Diagon without being noticed?" he asked Tonks. Being the master of disguises, maybe she had an idea.

"Gringotts?"

"Among other things."

"Hmm, do you want to try sprayed hair dye? It should work around magical detection as long as you don't mind looking like Malfoy. And you can wash it out later so you don't look like an arse for three weeks."

"Does it have to be blonde?"

"Well, I have blonde and black around from a dress-up party a couple of years ago where they had a no magic rule and black is pointless for you."

"Just how Malfoy-like is it?"

"Well, the theme was old families gone Muggle so I went as Narcissa Malfoy. My _dear_ aunt dyes her hair to match both her families. I'd say 's pretty accurate," Nym said proudly. She has won the award for the best costume after all.

"Fuck!"

* * *

And so Harry found himself in Gringotts with blonde hair, a black coat and a splash of makeup which covered his scar. The queue took almost an hour and by the time he was done, it had further tripled its length. He left the bank, probably with more gold than some people earned in an entire year, hoping he would not spend all of it. There were quite a few presents he needed to buy, but at least he had time. Quality Quidditch Supplies took care of Ron, Flourish and Blotts of Hermione and Honeypot, the London branch of Honeydukes, turned out to be the perfect place to pick up something for Luna, who, despite her petite figure, seemed to devour any sugary food within her range and had the biggest sweet tooth he knew. She even eclipsed Ron and his daily assault on the pudding. With them taken care of, only Neville, Ginny and Nym remained presentless.

"Mister Potter, you are in grave danger," a coarse voice said just as he left Odds & Ends, an antique shop in one of Diagon's side alleys. He had hoped to find some inspiration there but had come out empty-handed.

With a firm grip on his wand, Harry spun around and levelled it at a haggard man wearing torn leather robes a decade past their prime. A few dirty, grey hairs clung to his bare head and a thick scar ran across his throat, looking like someone tried to slit it with a blunt knife.

Really, wasn't it obvious that he was in danger? It was after all public knowledge that a certain Dark Lord has been trying to kill him for the past seventeen years. And revealing his disguise only added an unnecessary risk. How did the stranger even know who he was talking to? This smelled like a Death Eater ambush and so the young wizard looked at the surroundings, making sure that no followers of Voldemort were lurking around.

"Don't you see what is happening in the Ministry? They are after us - I owed you a warning Mister Potter - Leave Britain, as long as you still can!" he rambled on.

"What?" Harry had read the ramblings of quite a few crackpots in the Quibbler, but even they made some sense. And he wondered just who the hell that man was. Had they even met before? Why did he have a debt to repay?

"There were these men - But they weren't there - They know me now - "

"You are not making any sense," the Gryffindor pointed out. But the man did not appear to have heard him as his eyes suddenly became wide and he broke into a dash towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"STOP! Sam Miller, you are under arrest! Surrender yourself!" a brunette witch, wearing the grey and white robes of the Hit Wizards, shouted from behind Harry. Miller seemed unimpressed with this and tried to push his way through the dense crowds when several orange lights sailed through the air and hit him in the back. It was a small wonder that no bystanders were hit by the arcane barrage.

"This was a classified Hit Wizard operation. I'd keep it quiet if I were you," the nearest Ministry employee told Harry and he could only nod, still trying to process what just had happened. They had not recognised him, but at the moment he had other things on his mind.

Hit Wizards were usually reserved for high-level Death Eaters and Sam Miller did not sound like the son of an old pureblood dynasty. Perhaps he wasn't so crazy after all - No, he probably escaped from St. Mungos spell-damage ward. He certainly looked like that. After all, with Fudge and Umbridge gone, the Ministry did no longer randomly arrest people. Doing his best to push the crackpot from his thoughts Harry focused back on the reason for this ordeal. _"Sorry, a madman was arrested in front of me"_ did not sound like a good excuse for a forgotten first Christmas present.

* * *

In a different part of England, over thirty wizards and witches were gathered in silence around a throne, which stood in front of a mirrored wall. The former ballroom was littered with ornate decorations made out of gold and silver but due to the dim lighting, creating a gloomy atmosphere. Kneeling before the disfigured man on his elevated chair was a young witch, her blonde hair falling across her face as she stared at the Marangoni floorboard directly beneath her.

"Speak Miss Greengrass, why have you failed your task?"

"Milord, I got into the office undetected but it was not there."

"Are you saying that I was wrong, girl?" the Dark Lord interrupted, his voice just above a whisper and yet echoing through his court. All eyes in the room turned towards the cowering woman, waiting for something to happen.

"No Milord, the showcase was there, just as you described. However, it had been shattered and the gemstone was missing."

"Have you searched the office?"

"I wanted to search for it, but a group of four blasted through the door and went straight towards the Professor's quarters. They made no sound and always covered each other. If not for the enchanted amulet you had given me, they would have noticed me as well. My orders were to avoid detection at any cost, therefore I slipped out of the room when I heard spellfire from the other side of the door," Greengrass replied, careful to keep any emotion out of her voice. That task was not easy since the Dark Lord in front of her was known for making his displeasure known through the use of magic no one else dared to wield.

"Hmm, curious. So my source was not as discreet as he promised. He will pay for that. Miss Greengrass, your failure proved to be most fortunate because it provided vital information. The betrothal between the young Malfoy and your sister will be terminated, one way or another."

"Thank you, Milord, you are most generous."

"Nonetheless, you will redouble your efforts to complete your mission."

"Yes, Milord. I will see to it at once," the witch said and bowed even lower.


	5. Arrested

The next morning Harry decided that Andromeda Tonks was a blessing and a curse. The woman apparently did not know the word privacy but on the other hand, she brought fresh buns and two newspapers over before disapparating again. Well, at least she had no problem with him shagging her daughter. Harry had to wince from the mere thought of Molly Weasley finding him in bed with a naked Ginny draped across his bare chest as he traced her hard nipples with two fingers. His eardrums would never be the same again. But Nym's mother simply rolled her eyes and left with a chuckle, shaking her head.

"Ugh, did my mum just sent us a Patronus with the sound of an alarm clock?" Nym grumbled an hour later as she shuffled into the kitchen and sleepily bumped into a chair where Harry just finished making tea.

"At least it wasn't those air raid sirens from the movie we watched last night. Still, I nearly fell off the loo when a spectral fox floated through the wall and almost made me deaf."

"And 's not even eleven - What's the deal with the newspapers?"

"No idea, one of them is the Daily Prophet but I've never heard of the Imperial Tribune before. Haven't read either yet though."

"The other one 's a magical German one. There's a shop just outside of Heathrow where you can buy international papers. 'S run by two squibs who copied Relais H and they are making some serious cash with that idea," Tonks explained and grabbed a bun for herself. "Dad goes there on Saturdays or Mondays to keep up with what's happening in the rest of Europe, mostly the Scandinavian Quidditch League, so I guess he's the one who picked this one up."

"Guess we should read it then - "

"Probably - But not before I had breakfast. For some reason I'm starved," Nym said with a glare towards her boyfriend.

"Uhm - Sorry."

"No, you're not. And you don't feel bad about my sore abs either. Stupid Parselmouth - Where did you get that idea from?"

"Hermione's - uhm - date?" Harry said carefully. Truth be told he had no idea whether his friend was interested in girls or not, but it would explain quite a lot.

"Do you regularly talk about cunnilingus with your friend's date?"

"No, no that was a first. It just - came up."

"And then you decided to see if speaking _snake_ gets girls off?"

"Actually Penelope said that I could make a fortune as Veela boy-toy because of that ability."

"Did she perchance suggest that you should compare your date to a brothel worth of Veela whores?"

"You are never going to let me forget that one, right?"

"Nope, 's the single most glorious line I've ever heard. Even better than dad's greeting to Bath when I first brought her home. _'Hello, I'm Ted and you're shagging my daughter so remember to use silencing charms. Dinner will be ready in an hour, have some fun in the meantime.'_ Perfect deadpan delivery," Nym explained and they both laughed at the image.

"Bath?" Harry wanted to know once he calmed down enough to speak again.

"Bathsheba Babbling, the Ancient Runes professor. We had a thing the year before you came to Hogwarts. She graduated and became a teacher, which kinda broke us up. We tried but Bath didn't want to commit - Anyways, I've been thinking about the spells those Hit Wizards were using. If there's an orange stunner then they came up with it on their own. I even checked a book I borrowed from the Black Library last year and there was nothing besides the Cruciatus and a charm to sweeten your tea."

"They didn't torture Miller. He just dropped and was hauled away. Got himself on the front page as well," the wizard said with a nod towards the Daily Prophet, where a picture of Miller filled the upper half of the page. The paranoid man was looking around as if he was expecting someone to sneak up on him in the middle of the Ministry.

"Damn, he's even uglier than you described."

"The black eye is new. He didn't have that yesterday. Looks a little worse for wear, but not that much."

"So, what does the article say?"

"Let me read it first."

"Right, you said you haven't read it yet. Now you see why I shouldn't be woken? I'm useless without tea in the morning."

"You are not useless - "

"Really not in the mood right now. Read the newspapers and ask me again once I'm awake."

Accepting the rude dismissal Harry made a mental note to never wake his girlfriend before noon. A grumpy Tonks was no fun. Seeing that there was nothing left to do, he grabbed the Prophet and skimmed over the front page. In the meantime, she edged closer to dozing off.

"Not much in here. Miller is the prime suspect for murdering Slughorn since they had some shady business in the past and he was at the party. They also arrested someone else, but no details about that."

"So what does the other half of the article say?"

"A lot of praise for the Hit Wizards, wild speculations and you are leading me on."

"Well, if the newspaper says so. Remind me to dump you later. Or give you a pregnancy scare at dinner."

"Ehhh - What?"

"Just me making bad jokes," Tonks said and pulled Harry into a side hug which put him dangerously close to falling off his chair. She continued in a surprisingly vulnerable tone. "Sorry, I know that you have issues so I really should think before talking. I wouldn't - "

"Nym, you're still half asleep."

"Mmmm, how did you know?"

"You are babbling."

"Am I?" Tonks wondered aloud before flicking her wand through the air. A stream of water burst from its tip, drenching the metamorph before she dried herself with another charm. "Much better."

"Are you alright? Because that was probably the oddest thing I've seen you do."

"Yeah, I'm fine, just haven't slept more than five hours during my time in Hogsmeade and still need some catching up. We were horribly understaffed and had to work overtime to make the patrol quota. I swear potions are the only reason anyone is still working there."

"Oh, ok. Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"That eager to get me back in the bed, huh?" Tonks chuckled as she filled her teacup. "I'll have to disappoint you, I already have plans for after breakfast. Hestia was dumped by her fiance two days ago and I'm making sure that she's alright, or at least as good as you'd expect."

"Hestia?"

"Jones. You should know her from the Order since she was there when we picked you up from Privet Drive last year."

"I don't remember much from that night besides nearly freezing my buttocks off. And that you suck at household charms."

"Oi, you're not better. Anyway, Hestia has been my best friend since our first night at Hogwarts and I really don't want to leave her alone right now. Gwenog, that's her sister, asked me to stay with her until she gets home. That should be around four."

"Her sister Gwenog? As in Gwenog Jones, the famous Beater?"

"Yeah, but much like you, she's totally down to earth. And very affectionate."

"You had a thing with Holyhead's star player?"

"Nah, she just likes to hug people. And she was very enthusiastic when she signed that contract. I was just visiting Hestia when her sister came home with the news, practically bouncing through the room. We hugged and she plastered me with kisses while Hestia was laughing her ass off. That's really all that happened. Although I've got to say that she has a nice body, even better than Fleur's."

"Do I want to know that story?"

"Gwen tends to run around in swimwear during the summer and spends most of the off-season in the swimming pool. I've always seen her as my best friend's sister, but that doesn't make her ugly."

"Well, I'm going to read the other newspaper before you try even harder to get a _rise_ out of me - " Harry said before he noticed the double meaning in his words. But the damage was done as Tonks had tea in her sinuses, which did not stop her from laughing. "It wasn't that funny - "

Harry picked up the other newspaper, unfolded it and could only stare dumbly at the front page where a picture of Penelope Clearwater smiled back at him.

* * *

 **DIPLOMAT ARRESTED! WILL THERE BE WAR WITH BRITAIN?**

 _Heidelberg/Prague_

After yesterday's late-night meeting in the Imperial Palace, Emperor Ferdinand IX and King-Elector Jiri XIV of Bohemia announced that one member of our diplomatic mission to Britain has been arrested on charges of Treason, Murder of one Horace Slughorn and Smuggling. Professor Clearwater, a runic expert of the Royal University of Bohemia, has been arrested while performing maintenance on the wards of our embassy in Greenwich. Recently recalled Ambassador Schmidt said that prior to the arrest no correspondence with the magical government of the Isles had taken place. No request for Miss Clearwater to leave or to waive her immunity had been made.

"Because the British Ministry of Magic chose to ignore the principles which made European politics work for the last thousand years it is my sad duty to announce an Empire-wide embargo on British businesses," the Emperor said in his latest press release. "Our Scandinavian and Baltic allies stand with us and are preparing sanctions on their own. Should these steps prove insufficient more drastic measures will be considered."

The embargo targets any businesses from England and no goods can be imported from there. All companies are asked to check existing contracts for exit clauses. Noncompliance will be fined and repeat offenders face up to two years imprisonment in the Bruchsal dungeons. While the embargo is well received, the threat of escalation is considered unwise by most political experts, who see it as nothing more but an attempt of the young Emperor to silence his opponents. Ferdinand is critiqued for the lack of action in the time since his coronation fourteen months ago and quite a few concerns were voiced whereas the hard-handed approach is the right choice when the freedom of his subjects is on the line.

"While it is commendable that our Sovereign takes an interest in the welfare of all subjects, putting a wand to someone's head is not a suitable negotiation tactic, especially not with other nations," Prince-Elector Johann of Saxony commented the press release. "The English did something we have not seen since the Moravian Goblin Uprisings of 1649 and that ended with the removal of all Goblin presences in the Empire. It is obvious that the Brits have to make amends because unlike the Goblins we cannot put them to the wand for this. The solution has to be found at the negotiating table."

Prince-Elector George VII of Hanover went further and called the press release a childish disgrace for the Empire and it once again urged the Emperor to abdicate and "leave the governing of our nation to the adults". George has been working towards that goal since he unexpectedly lost the Election following the death of Albrecht IV in 1995.

In the light of this crisis, the Major of Danzig wrote an open letter, calling for a united front against the British so that one of our brightest minds can return home. "This is not the time to quarrel. The welfare of all citizens should come before the bickering of the Nobility. Professor Clearwater is counting on us."

Penelope Clearwater, born in London in 1975, has been researching the runic conductivity of different materials since her graduation from Hogwarts in 1994. This was done in cooperation with the Royal University of Bohemia, where she has been teaching for four months before her unlawful incarceration. Her findings opened many doors towards optimization of production methods and have therefore attracted the interest and backing of many businesses, which are looking forward to using Professor Clearwater's findings to gain a competitive advantage against foreign competition.

 _For more commentaries see pages 3 and 4. More information on Professor Clearwater on pages 17-19._

* * *

"Bloody hell! Bloody fucking hell!" Harry swore and began to read the article again.

"Huh?"

"I - I don't understand the politics mentioned in here but apparently, the other person the Ministry arrested was Penny. They are talking about Kings, Princes and Emperors here but it looks like she was working for the Germans and now they are seriously pissed off about the entire affair."

"What? Let me read that," Tonks said and snatched the Imperial Tribune from her boyfriend's hand. Once she glanced over it, the metamorph laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, I'm really glad I'm no longer working in that madhouse. Someone fucked up bad. Really, really bad."

"What's the big deal? Random arrests are not good, by why is that Emperor guy threatening war?"

"Harry, how much do you know about international politics?"

"Uhm, there's a Department for that and the Muggles have an entire Ministry dealing with foreign stuff. Uncle Vernon used to complain about them quite a lot."

"Alright, how do I explain this to you?" Tonks asked herself aloud. "First things first. Most borders as you know them are results from Muggle wars and wizards don't care that some Muggle said that they are now living in another country. Most magical nations signed treaties detailing their borders in the Middle Ages and those are still in effect. Muggle Germany, for example, was torn apart by a religious war in the seventeenth century, went through two Empires, fought countless wars and was divided during the Cold War. But magical "Germany" still has its Middle Age borders and political system. It is not a single country but a union of dozens of free cities and smaller nations, including many areas that are nowadays different countries. For example, you know Bohemia under the name Czechoslovakia, no wait, 's now called the Czech Republic. Always mix that one up. All these nations are doing pretty much what they want to and the Emperor is mostly just making sure that they get along. He is however responsible for foreign affairs and that's why the King of Bohemia met with him instead of doing things on his own. Just please don't ask me about Italy because that is one huge mess of independent cities who all hate each other. With me so far?"

"Uhm - Yes," Harry replied. He never thought about it but it made sense. People like Lucius Malfoy or Dolores Umbridge would not care what some Muggle said, even if she was the Queen.

"Good. Now, remember that I'm making things simpler than they are but countries need to cooperate and trade with each other. To make that go smoothly, they send diplomats to other countries. These diplomats cannot be prosecuted because otherwise, they would risk arbitrary arrests whenever there was an excuse to do so. No one would do the job. Now, someone in the Ministry goofed up and arrested Penelope, probably not thinking that a Muggleborn would reach any position above Magical Maintenance, let alone that she could become part of a diplomatic mission. She did some work at the Embassy so the Krauts gave her the protection and the Aurors or Hit Wizards failed to check her identification. That is a big no-no and so the Germans have to do respond in some way or they'd lose face. Their Emperor does not seem to be doing well so he is threatening us because he wants to shut up his own political opponents."

"Isn't that bad?"

"Well, there were no magical wars in Europe for the last one hundred fifty years and even that one was just a few French wizards trying to follow in Napoleon's footsteps. Magic and wars do not mix well since the different travel and concealment types remove any sort of frontline. Concealment spells make it very difficult to conduct attacks on anything but the most prominent targets like the Ministry building. Worst case scenario they waste the Minister and whoever was responsible for the arrest," Tonks said before furrowing her brows. "I'm more concerned that they are blaming the girl for Slughorn's death. As far as I can tell Penelope has no motive. Why should a successful witch with no connections to other magical families murder a Hogwarts teacher? It sounds like she built herself a good life abroad so why should she risk losing that? It simply makes no sense," Tonks huffed and her boyfriend could only speculate.

"Maybe Miller knew something, or tried to blame her."

"Might be. But why are the Hit Wizards dealing with the whole case, to begin with? They are supposed to be specialised in fighting and catching dark wizards. They don't have investigators, that's what Aurors are for."

"Maybe because the whole affair was rather messy and someone also ransacked his office," Harry suggested.

"But they have no one trained to ask questions. And Mum thinks that something is up as well or she'd not bother us this early in the morning," Tonks said slowly before scratching her chin. "You think that they'd come after us? We were there and we don't seem to be well-liked since they are still slandering us on pages two to five."

"But we didn't do anything."

"That hasn't stopped them before. To be honest, I think that the Minister is just trying to look like he is doing something. Murder in the place where most of the Wizengamot sends their children does not look good."

"In that case, I should send Hagrid a letter. Last time a Minister said that, they threw him into Azkaban for no reason at all."

"Yup, definitely glad I'm no longer a part of that. Do you remember who was with Fudge when he pulled that shit?"

"Not really, only that one of them was really old and still close to seven feet tall with arms like tree trunks."

"Hmm, so Fletcher was leading the team back then, which means Shacklebolt, Williamson and Scrimgeour were with him - You know what? I'm done with the whole lot," Nym declared but her boyfriend got the feeling that she was trying to convince herself rather than tell him something.

"Do you have second thoughts?"

"No - No, definitely not. I've been wanting to quit for some time but I've always chickened out. You just gave me the right incentive to go through."

"But I didn't do anything."

"You were a decent date. As you can see by your current residence, the idea of kissing you was tempting enough - "

"Why me? You could have pretty much anyone. You could have someone with more experience. Someone who's taller than a bloody fourth year!" Harry said, voicing the doubts which had been plaguing him for some time. He could understand why someone like Romilda Vane was after him, but Nymphadora Tonks?

"Harry, you are half a head shorter than me, not disfigured," Tonks replied in a gentle tone. "And I'm not going to dump you because you've been abused for over a decade. Considering what you've been through 's a wonder that you've not snapped by now, but you turned out a good person. Our relationship might look unhealthy to an outsider, but I honestly don't give a fuck. My parents started dating because Mum dragged random Muggleborns into broom closets to spite her family and your dad had a creepy obsession with Lily Evans for six years. Both of these worked out while I've seen plenty of 'healthy' relationships crash and burn. You are fun to be around, even if you are dorky. You make me happy and I'm not going to dump you just because some distraught fangirl is upset that she's not going out with _her hero_."

What began calm and reassuring ended fiercely, with Harry pressed against the wall, his girlfriend's body flush against his own. Their eyes locked, passion once more burning in her purple irises. A hand came to his neck and gently squeezed the tense muscles. He could feel her breath tickling his chin and then Tonks moved the last inch.

The wizard tried to pull her even closer as soft lips touched his own and the scent of cinnamon and tea drowned out everything. No matter how often they kissed, he couldn't get enough of it, of her possessive nature, leaving him completely helpless in her arms. Each time he surrendered any semblance of control and yet had never felt safer.

* * *

 **AN:**

Relais H is nowadays known as Relay, the newspaper and bookstore you can find in almost every airport and major train station in Europe.

Penelope was born in late 1975. While she turned eleven in 86, the term had already begun, which means that she had to wait for the 87 year to attend Hogwarts.

And no, this plot will not be resolved by a foreign invasion that conveniently removes Voldemort from the picture. That might be an entertaining premise but would make for a very poor mystery story.


	6. Christmas

Christmas with a girlfriend was totally different compared to what Harry imagined. Not that he gave it much thought, but somehow he always pictured them going out to places like an ice skating rink or perhaps one of the Christmas fairs shown on the telly. Spending Christmas eve dancing in his girlfriend's flat while they both wore sweatpants and hoodies somehow never made it to his imagination but at least there was no awkwardness on whether they should hold hands or not. Awkwardness was certainly not a word in Nymphadora Tonks' vocabulary and her Christmas present proved just that.

Harry was the first to admit that he had been curious how it would feel to be a girl. Therefore Polyjuice potion together with hairs from a metamorphic interpretation of him as a girl was something he never knew he wanted. Well, and the few other bottles labelled as "all-natural red hair" or "watermelons" were certainly interesting as well. But they also made telling the Tonks about their daughter's Christmas present considerably more difficult. Judging by the amused glint in her eyes, Nym was thoroughly enjoying his predicament while he did his best staring at the Christmas tree, admiring its red and silver balls and not looking towards her parents. For two minutes he was left hanging, giving evasive and contradictory answers before Andromeda connected the dots.

"Edward dear, I think our daughter continued her tradition of entirely inappropriate gifts."

"At least it's not us," Edward replied with a hint of East-Midland dialect. While his wife looked like the embodiment of aristocracy with perfectly curled black hair and flawless ivory skin, he was the picture of normalcy. Brown hair, an average figure and a trimmed beard made him fade into any crowd without trying. "I wonder whose side of the family she got those tendencies from."

"You weren't complaining - "

"Oh here we go again," Nym whispered to her boyfriend as her parents tuned them out, lost in their bickering. "They have that kind of argument at least once each month. Quite sure they are just arguing for the sake of arguing because I know the barb mum uses when she is pissed with someone and here she's practically cuddly. I'd say we leave them alone until dinner so my parents can be weird without us around."

"Uhm - ok," Harry replied, finding the whole thing more than a little awkward. The Tonks were arguing quite passionately, but Edward still had an arm around his wife's shoulders while she rested her head on his chest. To them, the argument seemed to be just a friendly game, something that could not be said about his friends.

"Come on, I'll show you my old room."

Tonks room was actually the entire attic of the house. The sloped ceiling was plastered with posters of bands and sports teams, ranging from Saxon and Wimbledon F.C. to the Weird Sisters and Pride of Portree. A burgundy carpet covered the floor, with a large bed and a desk on the far side of the door. Knowing that she was well versed in both worlds, the telly and the HiFi were no surprise. But more importantly, said room led to an eye-opening discovery for Harry, namely that there were things which made his girlfriend blush. And Nym looked utterly adorable with pink cheeks. He really should try to make her blush more often.

"Don't laugh, I completely forgot about it."

"Well, I certainly won't. This is glorious."

"My grandma made it for me."

"Is that - "

"She aimed at Hippogriff but ended up with a pink-maned Thestral. Only had dad's old copy of _"Fantastic Beasts and where to find them"_ as the source so I'd say close enough."

"You know, I always wanted one," Harry said with a gesture towards the stuffed animal sitting on her bed. "I think, I think it would have made the Dursleys more bearable. Or at least I wouldn't have been alone in the cupboard - "

He felt arms wrap around him before his head was cradled against his girlfriend's chest. Really, why did he have to bring up his relatives? Why did he have to ruin the good mood?

"'S okay. You're never going back to that place. They put you through hell but you didn't break. No matter what they've told you, you are a good person while they are nothing but utter scum. And my offer still stands, I'll take care of them if you let me," Tonks whispered while stroking his hair.

"I think that you paid them back - "

"Harry, a few doses of Nightmare Draught and a dildo prank are not enough punishment for fifteen years of child abuse. Your relatives ought to spend a decade in her Majesty's custody."

"Dildo prank? You never mentioned that one."

"Nothing bad, just used a few permanent-sticking charms on a lifelike replica of a Centaur's cock in the entrance area of his company when an important client was visiting - "

"And you didn't take me along?"

"Somehow I doubt Molly Weasley would have appreciated it if I stole you away to play pranks with a two-foot fake cock," Dora pointed out, not surprised that he wanted to steer the conversation clear from that topic. She still felt like the Dursleys deserved to be punished, even if Harry thought that they weren't worth the trouble. After having seen a few memories during their Occlumency lessons it had taken a considerable amount of calming so that she wouldn't inform the DMLE, which would have quite literally made the Dursleys run the gauntlet in Diagon Alley. And she only agreed because Harry did not want even more attention and the Ministry could not have kept that kind of knowledge secret for more than five minutes. In a perfect world, they'd be looking forward to some quality time in Azkaban, but Dumbledore would never allow that either.

"Yeah, I think our ears would still be ringing - "

"I'm honestly surprised we haven't got a dozen howlers by now."

"What happens with a howler if the owl can't find the recipient?" Harry asked with some concern. After all, he didn't want innocent birds blowing up above Leeds just because people felt like screaming at him.

"Uh, I've never thought about that. You think they just go off?"

"Let's hope not. Because I honestly doubt that losing their owls would stop people from sending more howlers."

"They're a waste of magic either way - "

"Let me guess, you can just silence them?"

"Nope, that's the one thing you shouldn't do to them. Silencing and voice amplification mixes very violently. But you can just burn or vanish them while a regular stunner and even pretty much any curse you can think of work splendidly. But maybe someone sent one here," Tonks said gleefully. While her mother could be weird sometimes, she was also fiercely protective and outright vicious. There had been one incident where an admirer tried to slip her a love potion. The moron received a very detailed letter afterwards, describing what a localised entrail expulsion curse would do to his genitals should he ever try something like that again. That and a summon to Wizengamot, where her mother had absolutely trashed his defence and gotten him a five-year vacation at Azkaban Resort&Spa by using any law relatable to that case. So whoever was stupid enough to send one of the screaming letters would be in for a surprise.

"I have a Galleon which says Mrs Weasley did."

"I'm not taking that bet, Hon."

"Hon?" Harry echoed as he sat down next to Tonks, who was already laying on her old bed.

"You like it?"

"Well, it's certainly better than kiddo."

"My thoughts exactly! Kiddo became weird by the time you got me out of my knickers. I thought about shortening your name but Har is just… no. Most common nicknames are sickly sweet so I tried something different, not that Hon is very rare."

"I like it."

"Hon - Yes, that has a certain ring to it," Tonks said and Harry replied with a wide grin. Hon was certainly better than Won-Won, no matter how similar it sounded. It might seem silly to most, but somehow even this simple nickname made him feel like he was wrapped in a warm blanket. Was this the power of love Dumbledore kept talking about? This unexplainable feeling of warmth whenever he thought about his girlfriend. The way she made him happy by simply lying next to him. The tingles which went down his spine whenever he felt Tonks' breath ghost over his ear. The absolute sense of safety when he was pressed against her firm stomach, with nipples poking his back and an arm possessively wrapped around his midriff. Yes, that sounded very much like the power of love, Harry had to admit.

Straddling him, Nym leaned forwards and had to let out a surprised squeak when he groped her arse. Never one to be outdone, she rocked her hips while tracing kisses below his jawline. At this point, Harry realised that he had woken a sleeping dragon and this quickly became a war he couldn't win. He was fucked. Well, at least if things went well from this point on.

"Your parents?"

"I doubt they'll be coming up here anytime soon - "

"Why - Oh - Oh - But, they're your parents."

"Mum is forty-three, not one hundred and fifty, so of course they still have sex. I only hope that dad wasn't the one to cast the silencing charms because he sucks at them," Nym replied to her boyfriend's ramblings. Her parents seemed to get off from the risk of getting caught, which had led to enough awkward situations she stopped caring about them.

Still, Harry seemed to be put out a little and that wouldn't do. The metamorph pulled her jumper over her head and soon enough he had the same expression of wonder and eagerness usually associated with Christmas morning. He seemed to have a strong fixation with her tits, not that she minded. Really, once the whole mess surrounding Penelope Clearwater was resolved, she owed the woman a big box of chocolates for inspiring her boyfriend to use Slytherin's ability for pleasurable purposes. When she had led him down into one of the secret passages, Tonks had been expecting a lot of fumbling and eager exploration and she had gotten just that. Well, until Harry had that glorious idea and her cumming within ten seconds. Some advance warning would have been nice because that orgasm came out of the blue and hit her like a lorry. Her lover certainly lacked experience and, as expected, did not last very long, but the things he did with his tongue more than made up for it.

Which reminded her that a silencing charm was probably a good idea because any soundproofing spells on her old room had long since expired. And perhaps a locking charm for good measure - Wait, where did her bra go? Looking down she saw Harry's fingers fractions of an inch away from her nipples and judging by his mischievous grin, he had another one of his brilliant ideas.

* * *

Boxing day began with a headache for Harry and he decided to never even look at Christmas punch again. The cocktails at Slughorn's party had been good, but the "family recipe" Andromeda had handed out was far too tasty to be alcoholic. Still, having not figured out how much he could stomach, the sweet beverage hit him harder than expected. Nym's comment that this process usually involved puking at least once was not particularly reassuring either. The glass of water and vial of hangover-relief potion, however, were much appreciated. And when he entered the kitchen, Tonks was already sitting at the table, far too cheerful for breakfast.

"Morning sunshine, nice that you joined the realm of the living."

"What time is it?" Harry grumbled while the potion slowly relieved him of the headache.

"Not that late really, only half-past ten."

"And you are already up?"

"Yeah, stupid inner clock, still used to those crappy hours I used to work - Did you know that you snore when you are drunk?"

"Uhm, no. Sorry - " he trailed off. Really, what was he supposed to say in that situation?

"'S no big deal. That's another thing silencing charms are useful for. Cancelled it after I woke up, in case you are wondering why you can talk again."

"Okay - What's for breakfast?"

"The pizza we ordered on Christmas eve but never gotten around to eat. Still tastes good with a warming charm so tuck in."

"Pizza for breakfast?"

"'S the best, believe me."

And so Harry sat down and grabbed a slice. No matter how strange this dish was as breakfast, it tasted good. He had eaten half of it when the door clicked open and Andromeda walked in, obviously surprised to meet someone in the kitchen. "Oh, you are up for a change, and even wearing clothes."

"Good morning to you as well, Mum! What brings you to our humble residence on this fine day?"

Yup, Nym was still far too happy for this time of the day. But despite not being entirely awake, Harry noticed that she spoke of _their_ residence and that was enough to brighten his mood. Her mother, however, looked slightly disturbed at something as she reached inside her robe.

"I feel like I am your bad-news-bearing post-owl nowadays, but you ought to read this," Andromeda said and threw the Daily Prophet towards her daughter, who snatched it out of the air and unfolded the paper, dripping its backside into a mixture of fat, tomatoes, salami and cheese. "They were considering this during the last war, but not even at the brink of defeat Bagnold went through with the idea. They say that the Dark Lord's second rise is the reason, but I think that there is more to it."

"The Wizengamot passed this?

"No, that is the oddest part. Scrimgeour bypassed them completely and just passed a Ministerial Decree."

"He can do that?"

"No, but no one outside the old families cares. I went to the Leaky before coming here and the people on the streets are happy about it. Many remember the first war, that the Dark Lord nearly won. They are not opposed to somebody actually trying to solve the problem."

"Is this a coup?" his girlfriend asked, obviously worried about something. And he had no idea what that could be since he couldn't make sense out of the two witches talking.

"Not as far as I can tell. The Minister just reorganised the executive side of the Ministry and he will tell the Wizengamot to come up with a new law for its next session but I feel like we are missing something. I wonder if it has something to do with the arrested Muggleborns."

"Can someone please tell me what you are talking about?" Harry asked once the whole conversation began to annoy him. It was no fun to be the only clueless person, especially when something important was going on. Nym just passed him the paper.

 **HIT WIZARDS TASKED WITH OUR SAFETY**

 _AUROR OFFICE TO BE RESTRUCTURED AFTER COUNTLESS FAILURES_

* * *

 **AN:**

This story is challenging to write because the main plot and the romance have vastly different pacing at this point. It is hard to find the right balance without too much filler or turning the mystery (main plot) into some background noise for the romance. At the same time, simply fast-forwarding at this point is not feasible because the important moments of a relationship are quite close together if the pair are living in the same flat while various governments and agencies need more time for investigations and plotting. The next chapter will be more plot-oriented.

In Rowling's works, Tonks has an unhealthy "fix him" attitude, which leads to her disastrous marriage with a man who deserted her at the first sign of trouble. We won't be going down that hole here, but it leads to the conclusion that she would be willing to enter a relationship with someone who has obvious issues.

One of my friends has a mother who doesn't care whether we are around and we have overheard her having sex with her boyfriend more often than I can count. So don't bother with comments saying that adults show more restraint when their children are around. I have heard plenty of evidence for the contrary.


	7. In the wrong place

The next few days flew by for Harry as he enjoyed the time with his girlfriend. They went to the movie theatre, had fun making fools out of themselves on the dance floor and even tried ice skating. The latter one went as well as it could be expected from two people who were trying it for the first time and they ended up on the ice every couple of yards.

"We're not doing this again. Ever!" Tonks said once they returned the skates.

"Really? Because to me, it looked like you had a lot of fun. Also, your cheeks are adorably red"

"It was fun - BUT, my arse is sore and half-frozen."

"I could help you with that. How does a long, tender massage sound? I'm sure I can get any soreness out of your muscles."

"Massage you say? But tell me, would it end with my thong on the floor?" Tonks asked with an innocent expression which was completely unfitting to her.

"Do you care?" Harry wanted to know, still finding it surprising that people actually talked like that outside of Seamus' stash of Playwitch magazines. He was definitely still learning this art, especially compared to the unmentionable things Nym liked to whisper in her delightfully husky voice. But at the same time, he no longer blushed at the mere thought of kissing a girl.

"Not really, but I want a hot chocolate before you get into my pants. How about a trip to Fortescue?" Tonks paused for a moment before she remembered her time in the emergency response team stationed around Diagon Alley last summer. "Oh right..."

"Uhm, there are other places where you can get hot chocolate. Or I could make you one if you'd like."

"That's sweet, but I'm pretty sure that we have none of the ingredients you'd need."

"We need stop by Tesco either way, so I might as well pick up something for your sweet tooth while we are there," Harry pointed out. Truth be told, he was rather surprised that the whole living together thing was working out so well, but according to his girlfriend, he was a good roommate. They had a simple split of responsibilities, he took care of everything related to food while Tonks made sure that everything stayed clean. Besides removing stains from fabrics, like bedsheets, she was not particularly good at that sort of magic, but using a vacuum cleaner did not require a NEWT in household charms.

"Hmm, can you make that awesome apple pie again?"

"That was your mother's recipe."

"No, it was not. You did not add walnuts, which always ruin it for me. I begged Mum at least a dozen times to leave them out, but she just makes a different cake then. Also, you served it with whipped cream, which makes everything better."

"Anything else you'd like to eat?"

"Nah, you know I'm not picky as long as you stay away from British cuisine."

"We are British," Harry pointed out after his girlfriend's exaggerated shudder.

"Yes, and I'm quite happy with that. But if your mother rejects all foods from her childhood in some weird sort of delayed teenage rebellion and you grew up with falafel and papas arrugadas, shepherd's pie and black pudding just don't do it for you."

"Hmm, so pasta, rice, chicken, pork, vegetables, apples, of course, I think there was still enough sugar left - "

Tonks could only shake her head while Harry put together a shopping list. Really, wasn't she supposed to be the adult? Because for all intents and purposes, he had the whole adult things down to a T while she was still trying to figure out how to cook anything more complicated than noodles with instant sauce. And yet, at the same time her boyfriend had problems when it came to dealing with other people. Despite more than one reassurance of the contrary, he expected that she'd dump him sooner rather than later. Getting that into his thick skull could be frustrating at times, but she'd try again and again. Harry was doing his best to be a good boyfriend and she wouldn't end their relationship with him just because of some lingering insecurities, not after having seen the memories of his life and especially not after Bath had done the same to her a few years ago.

" - and chocolate pudding - You still there?" Harry wanted to know when he noticed that Nym had spaced out.

"Yeah, just thinking about something. C'mon, I know a good place where we can go before you decide that we have to buy the entire store."

* * *

They ended up in a small Café on Charing Cross Road, not far from the Leaky Cauldron. During her Academy days, it had been her salvation as it had forbidden to leave for another magical place. Tonks knew the entire menu and ordered them hot chocolates together with Black Forest gâteau and the pair watched the busy street outside while waiting for the waitress. The sheer amount of people was always staggering for Harry, who had spent nearly all of his life in a small town or at Hogwarts. It felt like the entire population of Little Whining was walking past the window at least once every minute and yet the stream of pedestrians never ended.

"You know, these holidays are really odd. For the last years, I've been clinging to everything magical whenever I'm not at Hogwarts. But I haven't even thought about reading the Prophet since I moved in with you, much less anything related to Hogwarts."

"What about the Quibbler?" Tonks asked with a raised eyebrow. "Also, you are too busy clinging to my arse to pay anything else much attention, not that I mind."

"I swear, I have no idea how that owl found us, especially since Luna is busy skinny dipping on Iceland, searching for _trouser snakes_ , whatever those are supposed to be," her boyfriend replied, pointedly ignoring the part about her still sore rear.

"Wait, she actually wrote that?"

"Yeah, that was on page three. According to the article, swimming without clothes is supposed to attract them…" Harry said but had to stop when Nym choked on a bite of her cake. Against his expectations, she was actually laughing once she stopped coughing, clutching her sides and only the routine silencing charms prevented people from noticing them.

"Was it something I said?"

"Harry - Harry - Do you know what a trouser snake is?"

"Uhm, some sort of magical creature?"

For a reason he couldn't fathom, that only made Tonks laugh even more. While he had gotten used to his girlfriend's antics quite well over the last week, he usually had an idea what was supposed to be funny.

"A trouser snake is a cock," the metamorph managed to say before actually giggling. "Your friend published an article saying she's getting naked in the hope to get a good pounding."

"Oh - Although knowing Luna, this is just her name for a real animal - or a harmless metaphor."

They continued to sit in the cafe once the cake was eaten and the hot chocolate was replaced by a cup of tea. Watching the pedestrians quickly turned into a game of spot the witch, since most half- and purebloods seemed unable to dress in anything besides eyesores.

"Really, that guy could wear Death Eater regalia and would fit in better than in that orange-and-bronze suit," Tonks grumbled once a particularly odd man walked past their window.

"Yeah, even that guy in the pink jacket looks better than those guys over there. It really makes me feel insignificant to know that there are so many people out there, living their lives completely unaware of the whole war. Whenever I am in Diagon there's a huge crowd just swarming me but here I am just one stranger in the masses."

"The Muggles are noticing that something is amiss. Dad's been meeting with a few people from MI5 who are trying to figure out what they can do about the whole thing. They're actually trying to recruit Dad, but he's happy as a presenter for BBC Radio 2."

"Ted is an MI5 spy?" Harry wanted to know. Of all people, the mousy Ted Tonks was the last one he would suspect of being a spy, but perhaps that was the perfect disguise. It had worked for Peter Pettigrew after all.

"Nah, they just talk over a couple of beers. The intelligence people are trying to find unhappy Muggleborns to work for them and thought that Dad wasn't part of our world anymore because he doesn't work there."

"The Muggles know about magic?"

"The government and the entire intelligence community for sure: According to Kingsley, the Royal Navy even figured out where Azkaban is and are trying to come up with something to destroy the island if the Dementors go rampant. For example, do you see the trio over there, the ones in white and grey robes?"

"They are Hit Wizards, right?" Harry asked, remembering his last encounter with those uniforms.

"Yes, and the Muggles set up an empty department of the GCHQ to hand out badges to the DMLE and the Hit Wizard Force so that they could shake off annoying Bobbies… Come to think of it, I still have mine lying around somewhere - "

"What are they doing?"

"Uh, looks like they arrested that lady over there," Nym replied, stretching her neck to get a better view over the scene. "There was a witch at that bloody Christmas party with that stuffed eagle hat - I wonder if 's the same one who asked me how large your tool was."

"Wait, when did that happen?"

"I was swarmed by a flock of gossips as soon as I entered the bathroom and might have exaggerated the size of your wand - "

"Eleven Inches?"

"No, your other wand - " Tonks said with a roll of her eyes. Despite being slightly over the average, her boyfriend was apparently not excluded from the male pastime of exaggerating the size of their tools.

"Eleven Inches?"

"Harry, remember the morph I used to scare you when we tried out your Christmas present?"

"Uhm, yes," he replied with a blush. It had been bloody awesome, but not even Voldemort's Cruciatus would get him to admit publicly that he enjoyed using Polyjuice to become a girl and get thoroughly fucked by his metamorphic girlfriend.

"That was only ten inches," she pointed out and laughed as the smirk disappeared from his face.

"Oh!"

* * *

After Harry marched through the nearest Tesco with almost military precision, Tonks shrunk down their purchases and apparated them to the magical bookstore outside of Heathrow Airport, intending to grab the Prophet and then take them back home. However, the headlines on display made her abandon that plan.

* * *

 **ESCALATION OF TENSIONS BETWEEN BRITAIN AND THE EMPIRE**

* * *

 **IMPERIAL AGGRESSION THREATENS PEACE**

* * *

 **Snorkacks and where to find them.**

* * *

 **MINISTRY RELEASES MURDERER TO END ARBITRARY SANCTIONS**

* * *

 **IMPERIAL GUARDS LIBERATE OUR DIPLOMAT**

* * *

 **BRITISH MINISTRY TORTURES HOSTAGES**

* * *

Skimming over the articles, Nym concluded that the Germans had broken Penelope out if the Ministry, who was now claiming to have released her to do something for the economy. It seemed like the current Minister had taken lessons from the Malfoys since he had gotten through that affair without anything sticking to him and managing to sneak another decree forbidding all dark artefacts. But how he managed to keep a foreign invasion out of the Prophet remained a mystery when everyone else was discussing the possibility of further escalations. The Spanish seemed to be on Scrimgeour's side, while the Kalmar Union condemned the arrest and harsh treatment of a diplomat. And the Quibbler had another issue focusing on the Snorkacks without ever saying what exactly those creatures were supposed to be in the first place. Was the crumpled horn another metaphor for Luna's attempts to get laid or was there really a rodent/unicorn hybrid out there? Come to think of it, Harry's next batch of Polyjuice will certainly contain big, expressive eyes, albeit in emerald green. And how were the Lovegoods even running a newspaper a thousand miles away from home?

After focusing back on international incidents and buying all six papers, the former Auror went to look for her boyfriend, only to find him wistfully staring at the enormous building complex across the street and decided that the news could wait for another hour.

"Do you want to look around there?"

"I've never been to an airport, much less aboard a plane," Harry admitted absently, not taking his eyes from the runway where a Concorde was about to take off.

"Grandpa could tell you a lot more, but I can show you around if you'd like."

"Your grandfather?"

"Yes, from Dad's side of the family. He flew Sea Furies off HMS Glory during the Korean War and can tell you stories about pretty much everything that flies. Doesn't like to talk about Korea though."

"I think I'll take you as my guide."

"Oh, Harry, what an honour. I will prove myself worthy of your trust," Tonks said and could keep her face straight for all but two seconds before dissolving into giggles.

* * *

The next day Harry watched his girlfriend disappear into a perfumery, not far from the magical shopping district they had visited earlier, his eyes glued to her swaying, leather-clad hips. Therefore he did not notice the man walking up behind him until he laid an arm across his shoulders and began pushing the Gryffindor towards a side alley.

"Mister Potter, what are you still doing in Britain?"

Harry, who had not anticipated any form of attack in the middle of a muggle shopping district, was too surprised to do much besides stopping himself from tripping after the unexpected shove. It wasn't until they were around a corner that he regained his wits, yanked himself free from the grip and drew his wand while turning around.

"Who are you?" Harry wanted to know

"You may call me Syd and I am a man of many talents, all of which are for sale. A client hired me to look into a recent development and I noticed a pattern, one which should concern you."

"How did you find me?"

"The glamour is impressive, but names with Nym in them are not really common, especially in combination with Harry. I would recommend using privacy charms on top of relying on obscurity. After all, I was just passing by on a business trip and was able to figure out who you were. I followed you here - "

"What do you want?" the Gryffindor hissed. Of course, the one time they had forgotten the privacy wards, he ran into some kind of trouble. Truth be told, he had no idea what to think about the entire situation. Syd was wearing a brown trench coat while grey stubble gave his square face a very rugged look. While the man was not really threatening him, being shoved into a side alley filled with dustbins and empty cardboard boxes was not really a friendly gesture. Someone selling his _many talents_ seemed to be rather shady and the oily voice did not make him more trustworthy, even if the Cumbrian dialect distorted its effect.

"Information Mister Potter. You were at a Christmas celebration and now all outside guests are either with the Ministry or wanted by it. What happened there?"

"Wanted by the Ministry?"

"Clearwater, Miller, Wright, Thompson, Green, Lewis - Do you notice a pattern?"

"Who are all those people? I know one of them."

"Victims of the Ministry's paranoia. Two months ago the Commander of the Hit Wizards had a meeting with the Unspeakables. Shortly afterwards he restructured his department and their training expenses went up by 358%, disguised by a lot of creative bookkeeping. Three weeks ago there was another meeting, this time the Minister was there as well and then the Aurors were put under the Commander's authority. Everything comes back to that gathering so tell me, what happened there."

"Uhm, I don't know. There was nothing strange - " Harry replied slowly, still thinking about that revelation when the man cut him off.

"And yet it was followed by a wave of arrests, all based on the charge of treason."

"I didn't notice anything."

"What about the commotion Clearwater was involved in? My sources could not find out what it was about," Syd wanted to know and Harry's annoyance continued to grow. This man was using him for some sort of shady business, and by the sound of it, he was poking around in a hornet's nest.

"That was just a simple case of a young man using a rather pathetic plan to woo her. As expected, it didn't work, but that is not really noteworthy or uncommon at Hogwarts," Harry pointed out as he became more and more annoyed by the man. His quickfire questions were tiresome and the conclusions seemed very forced to the Gryffindor. How could a bloody party bring about half a dozen arrests? Well, maybe if Snape were to host the annual meeting of gits and Death Eaters, but certainly not a Christmas celebration where the most famous people had been him and Gwenog Jones.

"Think Mister Potter, there has to be some sort of connection, maybe something small - "

There was a soft pressure on Harry's chest as some sort of privacy charm came into effect, followed by a wave of magic which ended the glamours he had been wearing. Something was amiss, especially since Syd's eyes widened and he began to turn away.

"HALT!" a new voice shouted from behind and Harry got the distinct impression that turning towards the newcomer would be a mistake. "Oliver Roberts, you are accused of treason. Surrender yourself and you might live."

Harry felt everything slow down as someone else entered the alley and footsteps echoed off walls, each one like a battering ram against the gates of Hogwarts. It had been him and Syd before and the Gryffindor had been certain that he could have fought his way out if things went pear-shaped. But now there was at least one more person there, possibly even more hidden somewhere, which meant he was trapped. There could be someone right behind him, breathing down his neck through an invisibility cloak, and Harry would be none the wiser. The feeling of dread grew stronger as he realised how hopeless this situation truly was.

The grumpy man didn't like the odds of the proposition made to him proposition and decided to try his luck. But before he even got his wand out, a woman's voice said two words which made Harry threw himself to the ground immediately.

" _Avada Kedavra!"_

A blinding, green light was followed by the telltale buzz of dark magic and a dull thud when Syd's corpse hit the ground. The world seemed to stand still while Harry tried to process what just had happened. A Ministry employee had just used the killing curse as the first spell while trying to detain someone. Blood was rushing through his ears and he could feel his heart throb, having just witnessed someone other than the Death Eaters cast that vile magic. Certain Ministry employees were allowed to cast the Unforgivables in self-defence, but that had been an outright execution.

Harry tried to swallow the bile rising up his gullet and ended up dry heaving, completely forgetting the unknown caster. It was Cedric all over again, a life extinguished in the blink of an eye for no apparent reason. Just that unholy flash of green and it was over. Memories came crashing over him as the Gryffindor tried to keep his lunch down. He was lost in a flashback of the graveyard and therefore the next words spoken were a complete surprise to him.

"Harry Potter, you are under arrest for dealing with dark artefacts, murder and treason."

* * *

 **AN:**

The Hit Wizards/Ministry have a reason to act the way they do, it is not just brainless stupidity. So don't worry, there's a lot more going on than "oMG LoL so evil!1! Let's burn down an orphanage and eat some puppy hearts XD".

Lastly, this is a large scale AU story and I try to stay away from as many overused tropes as possible, so please stop sending me PMs asking for the "Weasley-Love-Potion-Plot", bashing, or harems. Definitely not happening here. I'm open to constructive feedback and if you point out mistakes, I'll fix them.


	8. Out of the clutches

" _Harry Potter, you are under arrest for dealing with dark artefacts, murder and treason."_

The words echoed through the empty back alley, but the young man wasn't hearing them. Syd, or Roberts or whatever his true name really was, laid dead next to him, empty eyes staring skywards to the dark clouds hanging over London. The smell of rain was a stark contrast to the wave of dread, which washed over Harry. It replaced the numbness which had stunned him before, which led to something Snape and Umbridge had given him countless detentions for.

"You can't do that, I didn't do anything!"

"Mister Potter, you had a long and quite friendly chat with a member of the Knights of Walpurgis, undeniably talking about purchasing the dark artefact Mister Roberts is carrying in his right coat pocket," the witch behind him said in a sickly sweet tone, which brought back memories of blood quills.

"The Knights of what?"

"The Knights of Walpurgis, don't play dumb with me. Everyone knows about Grindelwald's enforcers and how they escaped justice. And don't bother saying that you know nothing about an artefact since it is right here."

After that announcement, Harry noticed something tugging on the inside of the dead man's cloak and then a blue blur shot through the air. He didn't see much, but it was smaller than Riddle's diary, not that size mattered with these things. The Gryffindor still remembered the attack on his friend, where a necklace had almost killed her and then he was back in a memory, walking down Hogsmeade Main Road while inhuman screams tore through the idyllic village. He watched helplessly as Katie hung in the air, her voice cracking as Malfoy's gift put her through hell.

"Get up, hands away from your body where I can see them! We have all the evidence we will need to convict you. I hope you enjoyed your illicit affair because you will spend the next decades in Azkaban," the woman gloated in her sickly sweet voice and if not for the Cornish dialect, Harry could have mistaken her for Dolores Umbridge. And yet, over the thumping of his heart, he can barely hear her, despite the wand poking his back.

"I can explain, it isn't what - "

"Oh don't worry Mr Potter, we will get you talking as soon as you are in one of our interrogation rooms - Or perhaps you want to try something heroic, in which case, be my guest. That would count as an admission of guilt and make you a smuggler of Dark Artifacts and therefore an enemy of the state. The Minister believes that you can be used to improve the public opinion of him, but the Unspeakables are still dealing with the damage you caused with your little stunt this summer. Not to mention that there is a fat bounty on your head. So, which one will it be?" The Hit Wizard asked and jabbed her wand into his skin, the tip sizzling with magic.

Slowly, more out of the instinct than through conscious thought, Harry pushed his hands away from his body and into the air, before getting up. The soft rain beginning to fall and the faint smell of smog was a stark contrast to the mess he had gotten himself into. The hot tip poking his neck was beginning to burn his skin when the witch removed it only to summon his wand. With his last defence gone, the severity of the situation began to sink in.

Somehow, he had stumbled into another mess without even realising how buggered he was. By the looks of it, Umbridge had not been the only one wanting to get rid of him and there were far more people looking to settle a score than Harry first thought. Now he'd end up in front of a sham jury, who would try him for a crime he hadn't committed, not unlike Fudge had done. Yet somehow the Seeker doubted that Dumbledore could help him this time, not while he was still tied up with the murder investigation. He briefly wondered why he was always the one to end up in these shitty and life-threatening situations with alarming frequency, but then his arms were yanked down and behind his back. With an audible _click_ , heavy cuffs snapped around his wrists and then everything hurt. There was a searing headache as well as a burning around the metal restraints, followed by small shocks washing over his entire body. Harry screamed at the unexpected pain because as far as he knew, handcuffs were not supposed to hurt. It wasn't as bad as Basilisk venom, but definitely not something he'd want to feel ever again.

"Well, this is unexpected. Johnson, I got the target and even more at a side alley of Camden Passage. Come over here, my suppressors aren't working," the witch said and he wondered who she was talking with. Then there was a voice out of nowhere and Harry, still confused and in disbelief, was reminded of the walkie-talkies Dudley and his friend Piers had played with when they all had been nine years old.

"Johnson here, I'll be there in a moment, I'm just around the corner."

The wand was once more poking his back and Harry felt utterly hopeless. This wasn't Voldemort, who'd spent ten minutes gloating before giving him a chance to escape. One wrong move and he'd end up like Roberts on the ground because unlike Voldemort, his captor preferred to kill instead of toying with her victims. And for something supposedly not working, those bloody _suppressors_ were hurting a lot.

Footsteps echoed through the back alley and for a brief moment, Harry felt a glimmer of hope rising in his chest, until a tall, bald, dark man in grey and white came around the corner. Upon spotting him, the Hit Wizard raised a brow.

"Harry Potter, Nott? Why the hell did you arrest Harry Potter?"

"I caught him in the act when I followed our suspect, talking several minutes with Roberts, obviously making some kind of deal. The artefact is right here - "

"I didn't do - " was all the Gryffindor could get out before there was no sound coming out of his mouth. Although given his previous experiences with the Ministry, it was not really surprising that no one was interested in the truth.

"I'm disappointed," the man with a Caribbean accent said as he stepped behind Harry and exchanged one pair of metal cuffs for another. The brief moment of freedom was quickly drowned out by the loud snap of metal on metal and then the pain returned in full force. "My daughter used to talk highly about you - "

"I'm innocent - " Harry managed to whimper before he was silenced again. The handcuffs were beginning to get uncomfortable, and if he'd have to wear them much longer, his wrists would be covered by burns.

"That's what they all say - But unluckily for you Potter, we have been following Roberts for a few days and everyone he has met was involved with organised crime, the Death Eaters or the Knights of Walpurgis. And if you really were innocent, there is nothing you'd have to fear. Your behaviour, however, isn't helping your case, you know?" Angelina's father pointed out before turning to his colleague.

"You deal with this mess, I'll take Potter and the evidence back to the office."

Harry wanted to argue with that, ask why they felt the need to haul him to the Ministry when the whole misunderstanding could be cleared up within a minute. But with the magical handcuffs and two or three silencing spells in place, there was little he could do, especially since he has had a front-row seat how resisting the Hit Wizards works out. The Nott woman had used the killing curse after a mere token effort to actually detain Roberts and yet he was the one they arrested. Would this end up like his godfather's case, where they'd chuck him into Azkaban and then try him in absence, with the verdict never in question? Would anyone wonder how he could have done whatever made-up charges the Ministry invented before he'd be forgotten in a cold, damp cell?

"You did the right thing, Nott," the man said in a comforting tone and then his voice became steely. "Still, there's a specific procedure of how we deal with corpses, so follow it thoroughly."

"Yes, Sir!"

Johnson then grabbed the metal bar between the two cuffs and mumbled something Harry didn't catch. This was happening and if he wanted to make a run for it before it was too late, now was the time. But alone, with his hands tied behind his back, things were not looking good. Even at the graveyard, he has had cover and a wand to stall until he could come up with an escape plan. The barren back alley, however, where rubbish bins were the only thing to hide behind, had no convenient portkey nearby, nor did Fawkes decide to make an appearance. He'd have to try something in the Ministry or he could very well end up in Sirius old cell.

"There are portkey wards in place."

"Strange, I've taken mine down once you were here - " Nott said and waved her wand through the air. "Those are not mine, and - and they are powerful."

"Anti-Apparation as well," Johnson added after a moment.

"Not mine - Although there weren't any up when I've gotten here."

"Potter is not in a position to cast any and if the wards are neither yours nor mine, they have to be Roberts'. Well, they can't extend that far, so I'll simply walk Potter to the edge before taking him to a holding cell."

"Walk?" Nott asked as if Johnson suggested crawling to Inverness with a sixty-pound backpack.

"Better than to wait three hours for the curse-breakers. The DMLE will deal with the interrogation and then it's straight to Azkaban for the Chosen One."

With a firm shove, Harry was pushed forwards and around two corners. The clinking of the handcuffs and two pairs of footsteps were the only sounds disturbing the oppressive silence hanging over the procession, not unlike when Hermione had led Umbridge into the hornets' nest. Sadly, this time there wasn't a convenient herd of centaurs nearby, eager to run a train on a moronic Ministry member.

They were passing a skip not far from the end of the side alley when he noticed a shimmer on his right. The Gryffindor tried to take a closer look but Johnson merely pushed him against, which resulted in Harry tripping and hitting the ground hard. Before he could get up again, a foot connected with his ribcage and even if there wasn't much force behind the kick, it had the Gryffindor wheezing.

As pain flashed through him, Harry thought that the entire mess was quite ironic. He had survived Voldemort, soul-sucking demons, a dragon and a sixty-foot snake with a death gaze, but a shady lowlife managed to catch him with his pants down. But perhaps the bigger blunder had not been getting taken by surprise but his lacklustre response. He had underestimated the situation and just like in the Department of Ministry, had been too slow to react with enough force, waiting to see how things played out instead of taking action himself. He was considered an adult for Merlin's sake, the blasted restriction on underage magic didn't apply to him anymore. He could have stunned Roberts and walked away within ten seconds.

But no, his damned curiosity had gotten the better of him and now a bloody Hit Wizard had him at his mercy. The Gryffindor would pay good money to see Voldemort's reaction when the Dark Lord learned that he had been outdone by a pair of magical bobbies. Although considering that one of them was from the Nott family, maybe this was all just a setup by Voldemort.

"Get up Potter!"

Tasting blood, Harry scrambled to his feet only to hear a buzz of magic and then something heavy fell on top of him, taking him down again. There was a moment filled with nothing but pain and his heartbeat before he heard the most beautiful voice he could imagine. Objectively speaking, the only remarkable thing to it was a slight rasp, but to the cuffed wizard it was nothing short of angelic.

"You ok down there?"

"Just peachy - Nym - are you there?" Harry asked slowly as realisation dawned on him just as the disillusionment was lifted. With red and black hair, furrowed brows and ice blue eyes, the metamorph looked like an avenging angel about to mercilessly slaughter anyone in her way.

"Always Hon - But apparently I can't leave you alone for ten minutes without you getting into some trouble," Tonks shot back but her breaking voice betrayed it as a failed attempt to lighten the mood and gloss over her own inner turmoil. "What's this all about?"

"I dunno. You had just entered that shop when I was manhandled into that alley by some shady guy, who kept talking about some conspiracy between the Minister, the Unspeakables and the Hit Wizard. I thought he was barmy but then that Hit Wizard, ehm, Witch showed up and pretty much killed him on the spot. She then arrested me for murder, treason and dealing with dark artefacts. Apparently, that guy had one on him and that's enough evidence to throw me into Azkaban."

When Tonks didn't respond, Harry became worried until the stunned wizard was lifted off him and his girlfriend began rummaging through the Hit Wizard's robe. By the sound of it, she was looking through every pocket, pouch and bag the man had on him,

"Bloody hell, are you sure that this guy works for the Ministry and haven't robbed Gringotts? There's a blue gem larger than a tennis ball in his robe. Looks like a huge sapphire with some fancy brass inlays. That thing has to be worth millions"

"I didn't get a good look between being arrested and manhandled, but the thing they took from the dead guy was blue. Supposedly some kind of dark artefact," Harry hissed through clenched teeth. "Can you do something about those bloody handcuffs?"

"Yeah - sure," the metamorph said slowly before she shook her head and tore her attention from the gemstone. The following silence was only broken the sound of fabric being moved and the clinking of metal. "And - Got it. Now just hold still for a second - and - You're free."

"Thanks - Are you alright?" Harry asked once he rolled over and looked up at his girlfriend. Countless emotions washed over her face, which together with her abilities made it look like her cheeks were melting and flowing away. He knew that strong feelings could mess up a metamorph, but Tonks usually had that under control. Not even after seeing his memories of the Dursleys had that happened, and she had been shaking badly after that. " - Nym?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. But honestly, I should be the one asking that question."

"Well, I've been better, but compared to Voldemort's Cruciatus this is nothing," Harry said in an attempt to sound nonchalant. But when he tried to sit up, all he could do was wince. "Fuck, that kick definitely cracked something. Can you help me up?"

"Shouldn't we get a healer?" Tonks asked slowly and gave him a once over. "Yup, definitely a healer, you can barely sit. But where from? St Mungos is out of - "

"No, we've got to get away from here before the other Hit Wizard shows up. She was the one going straight to the killing curse like an overzealous Death Eater," the Gryffindor cut in with a sense of urgency.

"There's another one?" the metamorph wanted to know, already checking their surroundings for trouble. "Shit, we've gotta go then. I should be able to fix that once you can hold still for five minutes but we don't have five minutes right now. Can you walk?"

"I'll manage as long as we don't have to run."

"C'mon then!"

Tonks pulled her boyfriend up to his feet and then used her right arm to support him. It was far from stable and made it almost impossible for her to cast spells with any degree of accuracy. She also picked up the odd gemstone with an impish grin.

"Gotta make sure that they have no evidence against you. If we can make it past the wards, it will be very difficult to track our apparation."

Slowly and disillusioned, the pair managed to make it back to Camden Passage, only to find the usually lively street completely deserted. Even the stores and cafés were empty, with not a single soul in sight.

"What happened here?"

"High power Muggle repelling ward. 'S how I noticed something was wrong. Usually, they are used when the DMLE is cleaning up Death Eater attacks or arresting people in Muggle areas. I was afraid that a few masked bastards were around, so imagine my surprise when you are held at wandpoint by a Hit Wizard who then kicks you once your down."

"Thanks for getting me out of that mess. Roberts took me unaware, but he just wanted to talk so I didn't do anything," Harry replied and squeezed Tonks' side. He had hated being powerless and this was the very definition of it. No wand, no cloak and until a few seconds ago, no hope.

"How did he find you?"

"We had forgotten the silencing wards and he heard me call you Nym and then you said my name."

"Aw, damn, the one time we get sloppy - What did he want?"

"Asked questions about Slughorn's party but it felt like he already knew the answers. He talked about a conspiracy involving the Hit Wizards and then one of them shows up and kills him," Harry summarised, took a deep breath and flinched due to the sudden pain. "You think he was right?"

"Well, the questions sound like he was leading you to some kind of answer and his _arrest_ sound suspicious, but at the same time, talking about a conspiracy doesn't get you killed, the Lovegoods would be long dead otherwise. Let's get you patched up and then we can - "

"Halt, we have you surrounded! Surrender the artefact and you will live!" a harsh voice out of nowhere echoed through the desolate passage, magically amplified to almost deafening levels.

"They don't know where we are but probably blocked all exits. I have two ideas and I really hope the first one works," Tonks whispered frantically and pressed them into an alcove. The disillusionment charm made them practically invisible in front of a green door. "Harry, I need to move my arm. Can you hold onto me?"

"Yeah, but I hope you don't plan on running - "

"Don't worry, I got this - probably."

After a moment of awkward shifting around, the pair found themselves in a position which would have, at any other time, lead to imminent sex. But it was their best bet to stay undetected and it gave Nym the freedom to use her wand. With a barely noticeable jab, a window two houses from them shattered and shards raining down on stone plates. The resulting noise could probably be heard a few blocks away and the Hit Wizards were not deaf.

"Over there!"

"The third floor!"

A pair of grey-robed Ministry employees rushed through the narrow street and into what looked like a tea shop. Meanwhile, Tonks was silently counting down from twenty and when no more Hit Wizards followed, she decided it was now or never. Her wand shone with a dark green light, which quickly expanded in all directions, the disillusionment charm faded and then the world was spinning, distorted in impossible angles.

Harry had gotten used to being pushed through a thin tube, but with at least one cracked rib, it was a rather painful process. Everything returned to normal, but before the pressure against his chest dispersed, everything started spinning again and again, until he lost track of everything but the swirl of magic surrounding them.

* * *

"How - What?" Harry wheezed once he could discern the flat he had spent the last week in. He had gotten used to the squeezing normal for an apparation, but whatever Nym just did earned the top spot on his list of bad experiences with magical travel.

"I was the one who put up anti-apparation wards so they couldn't drag you away to an interrogation cell. Ideally, we would have walked away half a mile from the place where we left that black guy so it would be way more difficult to track us. Since that wasn't possible, I had to pull them down quickly and resort to apparating a dozen times," the witch explained while looking at her boyfriend clutching his side. "Get on the bed!"

"Have you done this before?"

"I mended more than one broken bone - Although never on someone else -" she admitted quietly while Harry laid down on fuzzy blankets. A vanishing charm removed his shirt and a body bind stopped him from moving. "Now, this is supposed to feel a little odd, but you'll be fine in a moment."

Odd was certainly the right word to describe the sensation. At first, a warmth spread from her wand tip, followed by a cold draft and then something crawling along the fracture. In the end, a shiver ran down Harry's spine as the magic began to tickle him slightly. The process was repeated for the rib below and he had to admit that it was not nearly as bad as Skele Gro.

Once she was done, Tonks put her wand on the nightstand, threw her sweater on the floor, kicked her boots off and climbed under the covers. Pulling her boyfriend close while trying to avoid the freshly mended rib, they ended up face to face and fell into a comfortable silence. Losing herself in his brilliant eyes, the metamorph felt some of the day's tension melt away.

"When I saw you getting kicked on the ground, I - I was scared," she admitted in a raspy whisper. "Afraid that they'd throw you into Azkaban like my uncle. You aren't the same after getting out of there - You know how Sirius never left the island behind."

Harry was drawn in a desperate, needy kiss as if Nym was afraid that he'd disappear if she let go. The cinnamon scent he had come to associate with her was again drowning out everything else as he wrapped a strand of crimson hair around his finger while her tongue danced around his own.

"Thank you - For getting me out of there - Without you -"

His reply was cut off by a pair of lips crashing against his own and the Gryffindor ran his hand up and down Tonks' bare back, tracing the curves and muscles he had become so familiar with while wondering when he had opened the clasp of her bra. Despite Voldemort casting a shadow over magical Britain and whatever mad scheme the Ministry was carrying out, he felt safe in Nym's arms, where nothing else mattered and he wanted to be nowhere else. Then the black fabric was gone and he felt a pair of nipples against his own chest. But before things could escalate further, she pulled away slightly, resting on her elbows. After a moment, Harry focused his attention on her eyes, which were currently coloured in a rich burgundy.

"You know, as much as hate to say it, we should write to Dumbledore about all of this. Maybe he'll know what this is all about."

Harry thought about his girlfriend's idea. Truth be told, he had a low opinion of the headmaster ever since the old man admitted that he knew how fucked up his time at the Dursleys had been. How Dumbledore's love of secrecy had caused the entire mess in the Department of Mysteries. How dangerous Hogwarts had become in the last few years. How Draco Malfoy was still allowed to be at Hogwarts. And yet, he also remembered how Dumbledore took no shit from the Ministry or the public opinion and how he had opposed Voldemort for far longer than Harry had lived.

"I don't like it - " the Gryffindor admitted after mulling on the question for a minute. "But I think you're right. Maybe he can sort this mess out before we'll make it on the Ministry's most wanted list."

When neither of them moved, Tonks let her head fall on his chest and ran a hand through the untamable black mess on Harry's head before plastering his jawline with featherlight kisses. "You know, I think the headmaster can wait an hour or two."

"Absolutely!"

* * *

 **AN:**

Whatever you are thinking Dumbledore will do, I am pretty sure that 98% of you will be wrong. All things considered, it will be a sensible course of action. Also, I hope it is clear why Harry was this passive. Don't worry, in the next action scene a few chapters down the road he won't be caught with his pants down.

As I've said before, the Ministry and its employees have a good reason for acting the way they do, so it's not just evil for evil's sake. Considering that the magical wireless is a thing, magical radios should not be terribly out of place. However, NATO radio etiquette would not fit in, hence the freestyle approach. The same applies to the usual police speech patterns. With the DMLE recently restructured, quite a few of the new faces would not be up to date when it comes to Hit Wizard operational procedures, which are guaranteed to be different from both, British and American police styles. And before you point out that Johnson should have acted different, remember that it was the word of his colleague against that of someone caught talking to their prime suspect while they were shadowing him. His behaviour towards Harry isn't overly rough, at least not by riot police standards. Lastly, I didn't use Hit Witch because it sounds wrong to me. Two syllables, both rather fast spoken, just doesn't have the right ring to it.

I know that some readers reader figured out that I've used the story of the 2003 video game Freelancer as inspiration for some plot points. This trend will continue in the future, although it is far from a crossover and I won't use anything past the Quintain arc. The entire background in this story is magical, there won't be any mind-controlling parasite aliens or spaceships and the Germans are not the trope-y bad guys with cool weapons, funny accents and a warmongering leader.


	9. Making plans

When Harry woke up the next morning, he had the brief hope that the previous day had been just a bloody nightmare, a product of his fucked up imagination. However, a soft thrill put a definitive end to that wish. He knew that cursed sound very well, and despite its calming and peaceful nature, it had haunted his nightmares for years. Nightmares of dark pipes, gargantuan snakes and two-foot fangs. Yet maybe, if he just kept his eyes shut and focused on his soft, warm, human pillow -

"Turn off your fucking alarm Hestia!"

Tonks seemed to be as asleep as himself and Harry, more awake now, relished the feeling of being snuggled against her back, his hand resting on her toned stomach while he inhaled deeply. The cinnamon body wash, the fruity shampoo, something earthy and a tinge of sweat created a scent which was uniquely Tonks and he couldn't get enough of it. Last night had been different, almost desperate and with an odd sense of urgency. Not desperate with lust, but with something he couldn't quite put a finger on.

It had left him feeling sore and, if his chest was any indicator, his back was raked with scratches. Yet afterwards, his girlfriend had asked, almost commanded him to just hold her tightly. Not that Harry had minded, far from it, but it was still unusual for her. Nym had seemed strangely vulnerable the previous evening and he had the impression that yesterday's events affected her a lot more than him. Well, after Umbridge's reign of terror, a Hit Wizard from a family of Death Eaters trying to get him into trouble didn't seem so noteworthy anymore. There hadn't even been Dementors around.

Not that it had been a pleasant affair, but a turncoat who had been not as inconspicuous as she had liked wasn't even in the top ten of worst encounters Harry has had with dark wizards. Nym, however, had been shaken by the encounter, even if they got away just a little worse for wear. The Gryffindor reminded himself that not everyone used Voldemort as a gauge of bad situations, but even taking that into account, he couldn't explain the way she had reacted. After all, Tonks had more than once complained about the Ministry and its methods, so a mule shouldn't be that surprising. And she had been through the Auror Academy and Alastor Moody's special lessons as well.

However, Harry's musings were cut short by another, shriller thrill. Apparently, phoenixes didn't consider it rude to flash into bedrooms and wake anyone they found still asleep. Perhaps it was the whole immortality thing, but Fawkes did not appreciate a good night of sleep. And to pile on his misery, now that he was somewhat awake, his bladder demanded his attention.

"Hestia, turn that fucking thing off or I'll shove it so far up your arse that you can tell the time whenever you eat something."

Reluctantly wiggling his hand from under Tonks' arm, Harry stood up and stumbled into the bathroom, still wishing that he could simply forget about everything and go back to sleep. But since that wish was not going to become true, he concluded that he might as well take a shower and get ready for the day.

* * *

When he left the bathroom feeling like a human again, Tonks was doing her best to ignite a stack of paper with her eyes. A missed step later, Harry realised that Fawkes had delivered the Daily Prophet as well as an ornate letter, which she had unceremoniously dumped on her nightstand. Seeing how aggravated his girlfriend was, he trailed a hand through her crimson hair when a pair of arms were wrapped around his back. What was supposed to be a quick peck on her forehead turned into a lingering kiss and Harry felt some tension melt away.

Looking over her now silver hair, the Gryffindor froze when he saw the front page of the Daily Prophet. Two pictures right next to each other covered most of it, placed in a way which created the illusion of being a single image. And while he didn't look half as bad, the photograph they had chosen for Tonks had her looking not unlike her aunt Bellatrix Lestrange. Eyes comically widened and with a grin that would fit right in an asylum, Nym looked like she was about to burn down an orphanage with liquefied kitten hearts. While the Prophet no longer dragged him through the mud, doing the same to his girlfriend instead was hardly a better solution, Harry thought dryly.

"So, how bad is it?"

"Bad, if I had known that the Ministry would blow a rogue Wit Wizard out of proportion like that - " she mumbled and flipped the paper, revealing a single word caption.

 **WANTED**

"But there's nothing we could have done - I mean, we could have gone to Dumbledore in person, but by the looks of it, the Ministry would have arrested us and only asked questions afterwards and I doubt that Dumbledore could have done anything about it. He certainly didn't for Sirius," Harry pointed out after gathering his thoughts for a moment. The fateful morning when Dumbledore, Chief Warlock at that time, told him to break countless laws and jailbreak an innocent man because he couldn't be bothered to do something about Sirius' imminent execution, came back to his mind once more. What would have Dumbledore done if he had been the one in shackles?

"I know, and 's driving me mad. The Ministry is supposed to be the good guys, not some mobsters trying to off you because they have family ties to the godfather," Tonks said and Harry had to laugh at the idea of Voldemort and his Death Eaters dressed up as Mafiosi with fake Italian accents.

"They could have fooled me last year. Because between an assassination attempt, torturing me, taking over Hogwarts and threatening to use Unforgivables, they were giving Voldemort a run for his money."

"You scared me," Nym said quietly, back in her sombre mood and not responding to his words. It was clear for Harry that something had been bothering her and so far her ramblings did not sound very good, "I've seen some bad shit as an Auror, but 's worse for people you - When you are not expecting it. I mean, 's not surprising when a Death Eater starts throwing curses, but the DMLE? And when you were on the ground and that Johnson guy kicked you - "

"You're breaking up with me?" Harry asked with an icy feeling in his stomach because he couldn't make sense of what she said or tried to tell him and the pause had seemed rather foreboding as well. Of course, laying on the ground with a foot cracking his ribs wasn't the most attractive thing to do, but as far as conversations went, he was lost here. His previous experiences with girls had been limited to a few dancing lessons with Hermione, a terrible date with Parvati and a terrible date with Cho as well as some lacklustre kisses while she was crying over her dead boyfriend. It said a lot that before going out with Tonks, a couple of platonic evenings had been his best time with someone of the opposite gender.

"WHAT? NO!" Nym replied, eyes wide with surprise. She grabbed Harry's shirt and pulled him down into a tender kiss and onto the bed. Somewhere along the way, they also bumped their heads in a less than loving manner. "Where did that come from?"

"Well, you sounded like you were saying that being close to someone was a burden in tricky situations, so -"

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"It doesn't work that way. Even if we were to break up just for the sake of not being as close because it can distract us in a duel, that would change absolutely nothing. We'd still be friends, and seeing a friend suffer isn't that different from seeing a lover suffer. Sure, we might not always make the best choices and it would have been better if we had written Dumbledore an hour earlier, but I doubt that it'd have changed much," the metamorph explained softly while stroking his hair with the hand around his neck. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

Harry, at a loss what he should say, realized that actions could say something where words failed and kissed her tenderly. Slinging an arm over her shoulder, the Gryffindor was surprised when he crushed a scroll of parchment under his hand. Tonks, noticing his confused look, rolled over and saw the letter she had thrown there a few minutes ago.

"Not what I thought he'd say, but 's definitely the Dumbledore thing to do."

This did not explain much. If anything, the odd statement only spawned more questions, therefore Harry decided to simply read the letter and then he had to read it again to make sure that there were no misunderstandings. It was indeed a suggestion which came from the Headmaster's mind because it was pretty much what he had done recently.

* * *

 _Dear Nymphadora and Harry,_

 _I can understand why you chose yesterday's path of action and agree that relying on the Ministry to provide you with a fair trial would not have been a wise choice. Their history of judicial procedures does not paint a kind picture, especially not in Harry's case. I have tried to intervene on your behalf, but with little effect._

 _After a long talk with the Minister, he had your arrest warrants revoked. Now you are merely wanted for questioning, which is a difference on parchment only. Scrimgeour gives the Hit Wizards free rein because they do keep delivering results. Since the restructuring of the DMLE, more than twenty Death Eaters has been caught, and while those are mostly fresh recruits, it is at least twice as much as the Auror office managed to achieve in the fifteen years after Voldemort's fall._

 _It would be ill-advised to surrender yourself to the mercy of the Ministry. The Minister might be trying to do what is right, but the same cannot be said for many others who are working there. I believe that Miss Nott belongs to that group and yet there are no disciplinary measures taken against her. Instead, they used their connections to the Prophet to have several articles depicting you two in a bad light published. I am not sure whether we will see a repeat of last year's smear campaign or if cooler heads will prevail. In the end, all those publications only serve Voldemort's cause and the Ministry is working towards its own demise._

 _It is imperative for both of you, but especially for Harry, to avoid capture. Due to the measures Voldemort took and my declining health, you must be able to continue this fight and not hand yourself to him on a silver platter. Therefore, and it pains me greatly to suggest this course of action, it would be best if you were to leave the country and lie low while I try to resolve the issue. Your written statements would be a great help in this endeavour. As for a suitable destination, I have heard that Namibia is a fascinating place this time of the year, although the last time I visited, the Muggles called it German South-West Africa. Or, if you are more interested in a cooler climate, New Zealand has some of the most breathtaking landscapes you will ever see._

 _Lastly, I do recognise the gemstone on the picture you sent me because it used to be a paperweight on Professor Slughorn's desk. The man did not only collect students and favours, but he also had a love for relics of extinct civilisations. I have never found out its exact origins, but several of the Ancient Greek cultures created similar objects. However, they do not have nefarious uses and the Hit Wizards' reaction was in no way appropriate. But better not waste your time on such trivialities, focus on your continued freedom. Britain is no longer safe for you. It is easier to return to your homeland after a vacation than it is to break out of Azkaban._

 _With hopes of seeing you soon_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

"So - "

"So - " Tonks echoed and drew a smile from her boyfriend. "What are you thinking?"

"How bad is the article?" the Gryffindor wanted to know. Before he could make a decision, he needed to know how fucked up their situation truly was. Dumbledore was suggesting that they should flee and wait out the coming storm, much like he had done when Fudge tried to oust him. And to a certain degree, he could understand where the man was coming from. Having lived through two world wars and two magical civil wars, it wasn't surprising that he was wary of starting another fight if it could be avoided. And a confrontation with the Ministry was only helping Voldemort.

"For you, not so much. It paints me as the whore who corrupted the poor, defenceless hero. And there's a bounty on our heads, 5000 Galleons each. This puts us on the same level like my aunt."

"Bounty?" Harry repeated while his eyebrows rose almost comically before he processed that the Ministry was treating them like the most infamous Death Eaters.

"It says alive only, but not unharmed. Which means that we can't go outside without a deluge of curses flying our way. And there are probably dozen Hit Wizards searching the town, hoping to bump into us."

"I thought we are under the Fidelius."

"We are, and unless Mum tells them the secret because she's still mad that I nicked a 19th-century bottle of Firewhiskey, they will never find this flat, or even which street we live in. BUT, all you need to guess in which part of England someone lives are three owls, a compass and a map. At least that's how you find the general area if someone is hiding in an unplottable house. Owl triangulation is not a precise art, but enough to narrow it down to a city. They don't need to find the house, they just need to be patient enough until the suspects, we, in this case, get sloppy. And I bet you my left nipple that there are already a dozen Hit Wizards searching Leeds right now."

Harry was about to point out that betting on a nipple she could easily regrow wasn't all that convincing, but then realised that she was not in a joking mood. Instead, he went back to something he was reluctant to admit to himself, much less to anyone else.

"You know, Dumbledore isn't wrong. If the Hit Wizards can find out in which town we are and everyone with a wand is going to hunt us, we will run into someone eventually and I really don't want to visit Sirius' old cell just because I wasn't a paranoid bastard while buying a head of cabbage."

"You want to leave."

It was not a question and Harry felt her purple eyes boring into him. There was no accusation in her tone, no judgement, but a mere observation laced with a little curiosity.

"You don't have to come with me," the Gryffindor said even though he didn't like the idea of being on the run alone. He knew next to nothing about the world beyond Diagon Alley and Hogwarts, and figuratively stumbling around in the dark wasn't a particularly good plan, even if winging it usually worked for him. But the prospect of doing it alone, without the woman he spent the last week with, whose company he enjoyed and to whom he had grown quite attached to, wasn't all that pleasant.

"In case you've forgotten, I was the one who assaulted a Hit Wizard and made off with a suspect and a tennis ball-sized gemstone. I can't exactly walk up somewhere and submit my application, at least not in Britain. Mum can probably sort that out once she's back from Réunion, but until then I am in just as deep as you are."

"Don't you think you should tell her about this mess?"

"I'm not going to ruin my parents 25th anniversary holiday because I'm in a bit of trouble with the law. Besides, if they ignored Dumbledore, what odds does she have right now"

"A bit? Nym, we are on top of the Ministry's most-wanted list!"

"They haven't caught us yet - Well, you know what I mean," Tonks trailed off and shook her head. "So, you want to leave - "

"Yes, no, not like that. As awesome as relaxing under palm-trees and ogling you in a bikini sounds, I don't feel like - I mean, I don't want to leave. That would be like admitting that Voldemort won. At the same time, we can't do much about Voldemort while the Ministry is doing its best to arrest us. And there has to be another option, not just running away or getting thrown into Azkaban. Like for example, that gem you picked up. I think it's important somehow - " Harry trailed off when he became aware of how much he was rambling. He did not want to sneak away until the Ministry got its head out of its arse, but the other options were even worse. While technically not the same thing, it felt like admitting defeat and the mere thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"You might be onto something there," Tonks said slowly while trying to think of every angle. She summoned the stone from the kitchen counter, fixed it with an unwavering stare and Harry took a closer look as well. While they had made several Polaroid pictures the previous day, his thoughts had been elsewhere and so this was the first time he could look at it uninterrupted. The artefact was roughly the size of an apple and shaped like a hazelnut. A bronze band was affixed around its widest part, with a vast network of straight lines etched into the metal. Intersecting each other countless times, they created a chaotic mesh of small polygons. The main body appeared to be made of a blue-tinted, slightly transparent crystal. While not possible to see through it, it was transparent enough for light to pass through. At some point long ago, it probably had been polished to a sheen, but nowadays the countless facets were dull and the surface had been worn down, with small fragments broken off.

"I only picked it because it could have been used as evidence against you, but there might be more to it - " the metamorph trailed off, her eyes not leaving it. "Dumbledore says that Slughorn used to own it. Slughorn was murdered as well as robbed, and those two are not necessarily connected, while this stone disappeared from his office. A few days later the Ministry goes apeshit and rounds up everyone even remotely connected to it under the pretence of hunting dark artefacts. Yet the centrepiece of everything is a simple blue rock with no magical properties at all. The Hit Wizard had touched it, the dead guy had it in his coat, I held it in my hand, and absolutely nothing happened. There's no rift through time and space, I'm not hearing voices, there's no curse on it or me. 'S just a rock."

"And yet Slughorn is dead, Roberts is dead, a whole bunch of people were arrested, there was an international incident and they nearly shipped me off to Azkaban. The Ministry might not be the brightest wands, but they wouldn't just do all that without some reason," Harry argued, got up from the bed and began pacing to the door and back. While sometimes strangers to logic, witches and wizards were not inherently stupid. There had to be more to it. If only he knew more -

"And that artefact is the only link we know of - "

"If we can figure out what this thing is and why everyone is bloody mental about it, we can prove that we have done nothing wrong," the Gryffindor pointed out with a lot of newfound enthusiasm. "Sooo, you know any places where we can find out more about it?"

"Do I look like an archaeology student to you?"

"It's Greek, so maybe somewhere in Greece?"

"Harry, I can show you several places where you get good Gyros, and there's this truly outstanding coffee shop on Rhodes that serves the best Frappe you'll ever try, but magical archaeology isn't really something I've ever thought about, much less tried to learn more about," Tonks pointed out. "But, I'm not even sure if we would want to go to Greece."

"Isn't that the obvious place to find out something about an Ancient Greek rock?"

"Not really, since the Ottoman Empire made sure to stamp out everything magical they could get their hands on, and they were by far not the only Muggle nation to do so. Only a few places, like Wallachia under Vlad the Impaler, managed to resist. Most witches and wizards simply fled, but when the Empires collapsed after the First World War, not many of their descendants returned. Add the fact that there's a power struggle between the old Byzantine exiles and the newer government, which formed after the Greek independence, and you have a situation where little gets done because bureaucrats prefer their pissing contests instead of doing their job - " Nym paused when she heard her boyfriend snicker. "What?"

"Sorry, but that was such a Hermione moment," Harry guffawed.

"Does she hold the monopoly on knowledge? Besides, a lot of the stuff Binns doesn't teach is metal as hell."

"No, but you went into the very same lecturing tone, which is strange since normally your voice is far deeper and raspy," Harry said, suddenly remembering his disastrous Valentine's date with surprising clarity.

"Huh, never noticed that - Anyways, as I was saying, Greece isn't really a place where we can find out much. The University of Asturias is probably the best place when it comes to history and old magics, but since the Spanish funded Voldemort I'm sure we are not welcome there - "

"Wait, other governments gave Voldemort gold?" Harry cut in as he stopped mid-step. He had never thought about that possibility, but now that she had mentioned it, it was quite unlikely that everyone else had been just sitting on the other side of the Channel, eating popcorn and drinking beer.

"Sure, pureblood bigots are not just an exclusively British thing. Now, don't ask me for details, Mum always tells me that I mix those things up, but basically Britain and Spain don't get along since the Spaniards tried to take over Gibraltar a couple of times and in return, the British Ministry helped Franco to weed out magical _spies_ in his ranks. So when the Dark Lord came around and turned out to be an enemy of their enemy, the Spanish gave him support, as did a few Italian states. Of course, he had supporters all over the world and while most had no interest in getting their hands dirty, but old pureblood families usually have hoarded more gold than a dragon, so donations to his cause were a big part of his revenue."

"What it - " Harry began to reply but paused to gather his thoughts. "What if we use the same logic?"

"Take donations from the old blood?" Tonks asked, not really following him.

"No, the other part. What if we also go to the enemy of our enemy. Spain is obviously out, but what about the Germans, ehm, Empire thing. They kinda invaded us to jailbreak our former schoolmate. There's also the university where Penny teaches and maybe she'll know whom we can talk to," Harry suggested, not entirely convinced of his plan. It was the first time he had to come up with a large scale plan and he found himself a little intimidated by all the ways things could go wrong.

"I'm not sure what the University of Bohemia specialises in, but they ought to have someone who can tell us more about this. Worst case, we can try Kalmar Academy in Sweden. They are famous for Viking stuff, but perhaps they can figure this thing out," Tonks said as she stared at the crystal. It would have made things a lot easier if it would simply talk to them, but whatever this thing was, speech apparently wasn't one of its abilities.

"So we get to Prague, talk to Penny and see what she says? That's all?"

"Magical travel is a big no-no if you want to stay undetected. We could book a flight and a hotel from a travel agency in Britain, but it would be a lot safer to simply take a ferry from Hull to the Netherlands or Belgium, rent a car there and drive to Prague… At least that would be a lot harder to trace. You still have the ID and the passport I got you last summer?"

"Yeah, in the Moleskin pouch, together with the gold I have gotten from Gringotts for Christmas shopping. But can you even drive?" Harry wanted to know because, for all her knowledge of the normal world, he really couldn't imagine his girlfriend behind the driving wheel.

"I'll have you know that I passed the exam on my first try - It'll probably take two days instead of two hours, but tracking us that way would be a lot harder since the Muggle documentation would say that we went to the Low Countries, not that anyone would bother to check in with the Muggles. Although, we might as well use a little transfiguration to change our official names each time we cross a border…"

"Are we really doing this?" Harry asked, surprised how quick Tonks had jumped on his half-baked suggestion.

"Do you have any better idea?" the witch asked as she grabbed Harry's arm to stop him from pacing a hole into her carpet. "Because to me, it sounds like a solid plan. I mean, we could spend the next week making plans, I'd even transfigure us a pair of uniforms so that we'd be Montgomery and Brooke, but how much use would that be?"

Nym was right, Harry quickly realised. They simply knew too little to make a thorough plan and at the same time had no way to get more information. And sitting around for a week and doing nothing would not improve things at all.

"If we are going to chase this lead, I will have to be better," he said with steely determination. If they were going to do this, they had to do things properly. Which meant that he would have to do a lot better than before.

"What do you mean by better?

"Well, stuff like duelling - "

"Hon, you're the one who duelled the Dark Lord, not me," Tonks pointed out softly.

"But I didn't duel him, I lucked out. Hell, I only used the disarming charm because I didn't know what to do. Same at the Ministry, we all had no idea how to fight. But Moody, you, Kingsley and Dumbledore, it was like I was playing softball in Elementary School while you all were the Premier League, with Dumbledore and Voldemort being the World Cup. You saw the memories, right?"

"Yes, but I was a little freaked out by actually seeing the Dark Lord, so excuse me for not rating your style and form," Tonks snapped and frowned. "Sorry, but this whole mess is really stressing me out. I don't mind travelling with you, but I'd rather drag your bum in an aeroplane to Jamaica because we feel like slurping cocktails on a white beach and not because the Ministry has lost what little intelligence they had - Perhaps getting away for a couple of weeks would be good for both of us. I can whip you into shape and we'll find out what this blue rock is all about. Then we come back, kick the Dark Lord's arse and call it a day."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

 **AN** :

So, who thought we'd be going into this direction? I know that this sort of story is not everyone's cup of tea, but since the description of this story clearly states that something is going on outside of Britain, it should not be that surprising that the action leaves Britain as well. From this point on, it will be mostly Harry, Tonks and a bunch of OCs. Penelope Clearwater will play a side-role and Hermione will make an appearance at some point in the rather distant future, but they are really not the "main cast".

Also, I know that the Moleskin porch was Hagrid's present for Harry's 17th birthday, but the item itself is incredibly useful while not as overpowered as its fanon Gringotts-linked counterparts. Therefore consider this an AU where Hagrid gave the thing to Harry for his 16th birthday.


	10. Prague

Getting out of Britain turned out to be easier than Harry anticipated. Armed with two enchanted backpacks full of clothes, Galleons and Pound Sterling, Tonks apparated them to Hull, from where they took a ferry to Brugge. Harry, whose previous experiences with boats were limited to the ceremonial crossing of the Black Lake and Vernon's mad trip on the night of his eleventh birthday, found himself staring at the enormous white ship, amazed that such a steel monstrosity wasn't sinking like a stone.

The trip to the mainland was fairly uneventful, with only an impromptu New Year's celebration keeping them up a little late as their ferry engaged in a fireworks standoff with a passing tanker as they crossed into 1997 somewhere in the North Sea. Once in Brugge, Tonks changed her appearance from backpacking student to no-nonsense businesswoman and rented them a nice Mercedes. Within four hours they left Belgium behind them and crossed the border into Germany.

Up until their lunch break near Bonn, it was a joyous trip. Off-key didn't even begin to describe their musical atrocities as Tonks sang along the radio and Harry joined in whenever he recognised a song, but it was something else to pass the time because watching the landscape fly by had gotten boring after four hours. He was also surprised how well Nym could drive, casually steering the car at speeds which would pose an interesting challenge for his Firebolt. She wasn't even bothered that everything was on the wrong side. But as the afternoon came around, their mood became darker because not even the fifth repeat of Lemon Tree couldn't hide that they had fled Britain. And while the rational part of his brain left no doubt that this was the best course of action, it still felt like a defeat. A few rouge Hit Wizards had achieved what Voldemort had failed to do for fifteen years. And to add insult to injury, they had done so with relative ease.

An hour after sunset, they reached the town of Amberg, where Motorway A6 ended. It had been cold and rainy in Leeds, but that was nothing to the ten degrees below freezing their car showed near the Czech border, where everything was covered by five inches of snow. Tonks decided to stay the night after spending half a day on the road and began to look for a hotel. Meanwhile, Harry watched the orange glow of the streetlights dance over her cheeks and reflected upon their plan. A lot hinged on Penelope, a woman neither of them was particularly close to. While she had little personal reason to help them, she had plenty of reasons to stick it to the Ministry. And a Muggleborn was unlikely to be in league with Voldemort. Still, a lot was based on mere assumptions and there were countless ways where something could go wrong.

Another fifteen minutes passed before the metamorph parked not far from the city walls. With the temperature far below freezing, the entire town was covered by five inches of snow, which made the medieval centre look like a postcard motive. The building in front of them claimed to be a pub, a hotel and a brewery. While far smaller than the ones Harry had seen in the port towns, it was well visited and had its rustic charm. After getting settled in a clean but modest room, the pair went downstairs to enjoy a hearty meal before Harry received a crash course on the different varieties of beer because, as Tonks put it, they needed something to unwind and might as well take advantage of their location. Few of the patrons spoke more than a few words of English, but it was enough for a thorough ribbing over the shortcomings of British Beer. Yet everything was in good spirits and a group of Bavarians invited them to their table for a game of dice. It wasn't overly difficult and apparently only served the purpose of figuring out who had to buy the next round, but everyone involved had fun and got drunk, so the evening was a definite success.

It was past midnight when the pair decided to get some much-needed sleep. Watching Harry stumble back up to their room proved to be a great amusement for Nym and it only ended when he bumped into the bed frame and planted his face in a pillow. Perhaps giving Harry that much to drink had been a mistake, but considering that they had fled their home country, a little leniency wasn't out of place. And it had even been perfectly legal for him to drink.

The witch returned from the bathroom and found her boyfriend in the same position she had left him in. Therefore Tonks was quite surprised when Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest. He nuzzled her neck, left a love bite there and held her tightly.

"Thank you."

"What for?" she wanted to know, concluding that five pints had been one too many for him.

"Everything," Harry mumbled before placing a lingering kiss on her lips. "Thank you. Really, without you, all this wouldn't be possible. I'd probably be in Azkaban without you. Or - Or gone mad at Privet Drive last summer - Thank you Nym, you're - awesome. Like, really awesome, you know?"

Tonks couldn't help herself, she laughed at her boyfriend's drunk ramblings, causing him to tighten his grip. After all, a moving pillow wasn't very comfortable to sleep on.

* * *

Arriving in Prague late due to terrible traffic and weather, Harry and Tonks spent the night in a middle-class hotel before setting out to find the Bohemian University the next morning. According to a magical travel guide, the entrance was hidden somewhere in Petřín Gardens but that still left them with a rather large area to search. It took over an hour before they figured out that much like in Kings Cross, there was a passage hidden in an ordinary-looking wall. But unlike at Platform 9 ¾, no one was running at it. In fact, Harry and Tonks had walked past it three times before they noticed people casually disappearing through the back wall of the upper cable car station.

It had been a few degrees below zero in Petřín Gardens where the winter snow buried everything and left the world white and grey. On the campus, however, green was the dominant colour and while still far too cold for a t-shirt or shorts, it turned out to be a pleasant change for the couple who spent the last two hours outside.

The campus itself was a chaotic mess of lecture halls and faculty buildings in every style of the last millennium, the oldest one made out of withered flagstones while the latest ones would not have been out of place in Canary Wharf. The dormitories, on the other hand, were more uniform, richly decorated buildings made out of white stone with huge, ornate windows, which Harry would have mistaken for small manors if not for the signposts. Vaguely remembering that Penelope was teaching something about runes, the pair made their way past the longhouses of the Scandinavian Institute, a large hedge maze, what looked like a small zoo and a pair of odd, twisted towers belonging to the Slavic division until they reached something not unlike a small village, made entirely out of huts decorated with brightly painted wooden panels. Finding Penelope's was a lot easier than either of the Brits had anticipated because it was the only one with a pair of guards leaning against its wall, warming themselves on a magical fire. Those men, both at least seven feet tall, wore red coats embodied with a silver lion and golden hats. Because they looked like twenty stone of pure muscle, their presence alone was enough to scare off most people.

Once it became obvious that Nym and Harry were heading towards the door, the two wizards stepped away from the wall and into their way. Both reached for their wands but didn't draw them yet.

"Přestat! Halt!" the right man said with a cutting voice but noticed Harry's confused expression. "Visiteurs? Guests?"

"We're friends of Penelope and wanted to visit her," Tonks replied before she reached inside her coat and slowly pulled her wand out of a pocket, the handle outstretched to the guard. Up close, the man looked older, his faced marred by countless scars, but unlike Moody, he still had every part where it belonged. And, at least in Nym's opinion, she was dealing with a professional. His uniform robes might look a little old-fashioned, but there was a pair of sharp, calculating eyes roving over her as the man cast a series of detection charms until he seemed satisfied with the results.

It was a little stretch to call Penelope a friend, but explaining the mess they were into a pair of wizards, whose English seemed a little rusty, didn't seem like a good idea. The metamorph had thought about similar situations before she entered the campus and, after a quick discussion with her boyfriend, had decided that she would do the talking. If things went pear-shaped, Nym could disappear into the masses, becoming anyone within seconds whereas the faintest rumour of Harry Potter being in Prague would spread like wildfire and the last thing they needed was even more attention. Well, that or to broadcast their location in twenty gossip magazines.

While the older of the two guards knocked on the door trice, Harry surrendered his wand as well. Since Miss Nott still had the holly and phoenix feather one, the Gryffindor had borrowed one of Tonks spares, albeit with limited success. While certainly better than nothing, 9 inches of willow with a unicorn core didn't really work for him and he hoped that they could find a wandmaker in the near future.

"Jsou to tví přátelé?"

While neither Nym nor Harry understood what the had wizard said, Penelope poking her head out of the door got the message across. The blonde didn't look different compared to what Harry remembered from Slughorn's party as she mustered them in confusion. Only when Tonks let her hair fade from a mousy grey to her usual pink, surprise and recognition flashed over the Professor's face and she squinted her eyes at Harry's brown dyed hair. The young woman looked from Nym to him and back a couple times before she saw through that disguise as well and waved them in.

The inside of her house was dominated by wooden planks which, unlike their counterparts on the outside, had not been painted over. The room was centred around a huge fireplace in front of a sofa and two armchairs. An old television set stood next to a desk cluttered with books and loose papers while several bookshelves covered the walls. One of the corners also hid a spiral staircase, leading to an upper and a lower level. It was quite cosy, even if Harry had expected something more akin to Hogwarts and not just a park with academic buildings in between. And yet it also had the stark difference between outside appearance and interior he had come to associate with magic. Because while the hut looked like a hovel from the outside, the interior was similar to a luxurious ski hut in a prestigious alpine village.

"Tea?" Penelope asked as she gestured towards the sofa.

"That would be lovely - Uhm - Hi" Harry mumbled, thrown out of balance by the guards by the door.

"Hello Harry, hi - eh - Nymeria?"

"'S Nymphadora, but just call me Tonks," the metamorph grumbled as Penelope transfigured a pillow into a teapot and conjured steaming hot water to fill it with.

"I take this isn't a social visit, right?" Penny asked just as they sat down.

"Not really. How much do you trust those guards?" Tonks wanted to know in return.

"Well, Pawel, that's the younger one, was with the unit which broke me out of the Ministry, so I'd say that they are alright. And they are soldiers, they won't arrest you over a bag of green," Penny shrugged and Tonks wondered whether the blonde had already tested that claim.

"Good, 'cause we need your help. Or more accurately, we need your help to find someone to help us. You see - "

* * *

Penelope listened to their tale and, after Nym was done, summoned a bottle of clear spirits and three glasses. The liquor tasted horrible in Harry's opinion, but both witches looked less pale after the pick-me-up. "So let me get this straight. The Hit Wizards tried to arrest you because some shady bloke, whom they just had killed, was talking to you and when your girlfriend stops one of them from kicking you on the ground, the Ministry makes you the public enemy number one?"

"That sounds about right."

"And when you write Dumbledore and ask for advice, he just tells you to go on a vacation?"

"Yes. I mean, 's that, hiding in my flat or Azkaban, but I kinda hoped for more. I saw his duel with Voldemort, but instead of him getting shit done in the Ministry, we got a travel guide."

"That still doesn't explain why you are here though," Penelope pointed out.

"To be blunt, we hoped that you could help us," Harry cut in before Tonks would go on another tangent. "Either because you know more about this artefact or because you know someone who might."

"We had to leave the Isle either way, but Harry pointed out that all these fuck-ups have to be connected somehow, we need someone who has connections to science and our list of foreign scientists was shockingly short. I mean, I have a bunch of friends in the Commonwealth, but none of them would know anything about antique rocks," the metamorph added while thinking about her friends. Judging by how much she had slept in Binns', Hestia wouldn't know the difference between Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Izzy was on a magi-zoological expedition somewhere in British Guiana where she had spent half a year away from any beacons of civilization, like post boxes, and Ashley was busy as a healer for the Dunedin Tuis.

"Do you have that thing with you?"

"Would be kinda pointless to come here otherwise," Tonks said, took the artefact out of a hidden coat pocket and gave it to Penelope, who had cleared some space on her desk. The young professor placed the azure rock under a magnifier and began examining it.

"Hmm, that's difficult. Those lines are definitely some sort of symmetrical pattern, but they are unlike any runes I've ever seen before. They might even be purely aesthetic," Penny trailed off and rubbed her chin. While she turned the relic to look at every nook and cranny, her cold demeanour was slowly replaced by excitement. "These ornaments are made out of bronze or a very similar alloy, but those patterns are etched with a precision surpassing modern laser cutters while this rock is at least two thousand years old. And I have never seen such a mineral before. Reminds me of quartz, but it feels metallic."

The young professor put the supposedly dark object down and walked back to the table from where Harry and Tonks had been watching her.

"Why are you so interested in learning more about it?" Penelope wanted to know. "I know that from an academic point of view it is fascinating, but why not simply leave it here and go on a vacation? It will take some time to get you some answers and the scientific method isn't exactly thrilling for spectators."

"Because - "

"Well - "

Harry managed to stop himself from sniggering, but the same couldn't be said for the two witches.

"I - I used to be an Auror," Tonks explained but had to pause to stop another bout of laughter. "You get a sense for what's important and my sixth sense is screaming at me when it comes to that bloody rock. I mean, Harry has a point when he says that the Ministry wouldn't lose its shit over a paperweight. People were murdered over this. The man who stole this was summarily executed. Even the Minister, who had been sucking up to Harry before, dropped him like a hot potato."

"There's also Voldemort," her boyfriend pointed out. "If this thing is even half as dangerous as the Ministry makes it out to be, Voldemort is interested in it, and if this artefact is some sort of weapon, then I want to know what it's all about. Because - Well, the last time I didn't know something important, we've ended up in the Department of Mysteries last summer, and I'd really, really like to avoid a repeat performance."

"I see," Penelope said and glanced back at the ancient relic. "This thing is fascinating, and I'd love to tinker around those etchings, but I'm pretty sure that I won't be useful for your goals. Our own Antiquity Institute specialises on the Romans since they actually made it here and left a lot behind, from the Limes ward line up to countless ritual spots and hidden buildings. But besides the odd trader, the Greeks never really made it past the alps and this thing is definitely not Roman."

"So you cannot help us?" Harry asked and was surprised when Tonks kicked him under the table.

"I didn't say that. Antiquity and History might be unable to help you, but there's also the archaeological faculty. They come across all kinds of odd trinkets on their digs, maybe they'll know more."

"Where do we find them?"

"Just wait here, I'll send a memo to the director that there is a new toy for him to play with and he will be here before you can say _of great historical value_ ," Penny said as she scribbled a note on a sheet of paper and tapped it with her wand. Like the Ministry memos, it folded itself into a paper plane and flew out through the chimney, leaving behind an awkward pause of conversation.

* * *

"So, how have you been?" Harry asked after a while to break the tense silence. And while he flinched as soon as the words left his lips, Penny only rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine, really. It wasn't how I imagined my holidays would be like, but the Ministry didn't drag me off to some torture chamber or anything like that," the blonde shrugged and took a sip from her teacup. "The worst they did was to dose me with Veritaserum and ask a few questions about things I had no idea about, like spies and similar cloak and dagger stuff. Honestly, I think it was worse for Mum and Dad when some strange official told them that their daughter had been kidnapped by a magical government…"

"I can see how that'd be an issue," Tonks chuckled and leaned back until she was looking up to the ceiling. "How are they coping?"

"As well as you can expect. They have been over for a couple days after I got and have been getting on my nerves. I understand that mum was worried, but she treated me like I was on the brink of death, not just a little tired from the stress of that bloody misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? The Ministry arrests you on the street and locks you up and you call it a misunderstanding?" Harry asked with rising anger as he was reminded of his godfather's case.

"According to British Law, the Police can detain you longer than I was kept in the Ministry - Don't get me wrong, I'll not return anytime soon, but what's done is done. I mean, I never really got my head around the whole diplomatic immunity thing and unless I want to raise an army and take over the Isles, there is not much I can do about this mess. Besides, this place already feels more like home than Hogwarts did after my sixth year," Penelope said gently and after doing the math, he realised that she meant the Basilisk incident. "But enough about me, how have you been before the Hit Wizards made a fool out of the entire Ministry?"

"Great!"

"It was a nice illusion, to pretend that there was no war, no Dark Lord looking for any weakness to exploit," Tonks elaborated further than her boyfriend's enthusiastic reply. "I knew that it wouldn't last, but I thought it'd end with me sneaking into Hogwarts occasionally while I'd be looking for a new job, not fleeing from Britain because the Ministry ditched its last bit of common sense."

"So you two are officially together?"

"Well, I didn't file the paperwork yet, but only Slughorn's murder stopped us from getting plastered all over the front page," the metamorph said and kissed Harry's cheek.

"What's with all attention anyway? I remember it was nowhere near that bad back when I was a student," Penny wanted to know.

"Through a leak from the DMLE, the Daily Prophet learned that the mess in the Department of Mysteries was about lure Harry into retrieving a Prophecy about him and the Dark Lord. So being the responsible journalists they are, they milked the story for a few weeks - "

"And now everyone thinks that I am the _Chosen One_ who will save their arses while they sit back at home and…" Harry explained but was cut off when the front door was thrown open and a man with grey hair and deep wrinkles stepped inside in complete disregard of politeness and good manners. Clad in a mixture of lab coat and wizard's robe, he didn't look particularly happy to be there and once his narrowed, blue eyes found Penny, he began to berate her in rapid-fire German. Harry understood absolutely nothing and Tonks, with her limited grasp of the language, didn't fare much better, but at least she managed to understand that the old man was in a hurry to get somewhere.

"Professor Podebrady, meet Harry Potter and Dora Tonks," Penelope introduced as he pushed her to the side as he walked to her desk. The old wizard shot a glance at the two Brits but quickly turned back and began to cast countless spells, made use of Penelope's stand magnifier and kept mumbling remarks in German for what felt like an eternity.

Harry watched with growing irritation as the relic was lifted and twisted, engulfed by colourful lights, poked at and thoroughly analysed. He had hoped that once they found an expert, the whole mess could be sorted out within a few days, but slowly came to the realisation that there would be no quick fix. It was a rather stupid thought anyway, because if anything, his previous dealings with the Ministry should have taught him that they did not care about such trivialities as evidence or facts.

"Truly magnificent. I have come across many interesting objects, but zis one might perhaps be ze first from Atlantis," Podebrady said gleefully, his thick German accent at odds with his Czech name. Nonetheless, his awe was audible enough and for the first time, the man wasn't overly rude.

"Atlantis is real?" Harry asked and blushed when everyone turned towards him. "I thought it was just a muggle myth."

"'S a magical myth as well," Tonks threw in. "Or maybe more of an ancient conspiracy theory because quite a few people believe it true."

"It is more zan a conspiracy my dear. Zere are references in Egyptian tombs and quite a few mundane items have been found over ze years. We are certain zat Atlantis did in fact exist, even if zere is - used to be only one magical artefact. Ze University of Asturias found it in ze twenties and kept it hidden ever since. If zis is genuine, zan it might be ze biggest discovery of zis decade - But where do you have it from?" the Professor wanted to know with sudden hostility.

"A thief had it on him when Hit Wizards killed him and tried to pin everything on me. When we escaped, we took the artefact with us," Harry explained and yet Podebrady's expression clearly said that he wasn't believing this story but at the same time did not care enough to get to the bottom of it because, at the end of the day, he still had something incredibly rare to work on. Yet, the Professor was back to his frosty self as he took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Zere is nothing I can do for you now, but you could try Quintain."

"What?" Tonks wanted to know but the old man only gave her a patronising smile, making it clear that he had set her up for that question.

"Not what my dear, whom. Professor Roland Quintain, a true genius and nowadays working for ze Venetian Institute of ze Arcane. He usually disappears for a few years only to return wiz some groundbreaking discovery zat advances ze field of magical archaeology by decades and renders entire books obsolete. He usually works with Doctor Sinclair in some remote corner of ze world, following rumours and returning wiz facts and requests for more funding. You know how zese field people are, always busy with their important discoveries and never have ze time to fill out ze paperwork. I haven't seen half of my employees since last summer but zey all turn up eventually, eizer parading around their big find or beg for more money. I understand ze need for field work, even ze passion which makes zem forget everything else, but wizout proper bureaucracy and bookkeeping, zey would have no money for it. But I digress - If you want answers, Quintain is your man."

"Why can't you do more?" Harry wanted to know and felt blue eyes bore into him.

"Because boy, I have an hour before I have to leave for San José for a long-scheduled cooperation with ze Latin American branch of ze University of Asturias and will be zere for at a month, if not two. And knowing that I could be working on an Atlantean artefact will not make ze time pass faster," Podebrady grumbled before he looked back to the object of his desire. "My department is understaffed and overworked. Manninger and Breunig are busy teaching and Mendel is taking her students to Wallachia to teach them field work."

"You only have three people under you?" Harry wanted to know since he remembered that all most buildings on the campus had been far larger than if they were staffed by four.

"Of course not, but what use would a secretary be for you?" the Professor said, his annoyance growing even further. "Eizer you wait or you find Quintain."

"Somehow I get the feeling that this won't be as easy as you make it sound," Tonks replied and was surprised to see the old scientist give a predatory smile in return.

"You are right, my dear. Ze last time I have heard from him was when he cancelled his lecture at last year's Walpurgis-Conference in Sardinia."

"What about the Doctor you have mentioned earlier? Sinclair or something like that?" Harry asked and received a hostile stare in return. Somehow, he had the feeling that the Professor did not like him.

"She is doing contract work for my department in norzern Finland, near Ivalo, looking for a rumoured Sami burial site in zat area."

"But how would finding her help us?"

"Doctor Sinclair was Professor Quintain's protegee back when he used to be a member of my faculty here in Prague some twenty years ago. Zose two were pretty close back zen and if anyzing, Sinclair might be able to make sense of zis artefact on her own. Ze little girl was a sharp one - " the older Professor trailed off as he glanced at his wristwatch. "Why couldn't you have shown up yesterday? Or last month?"

Harry decided to ignore the melancholic question and his longing gaze as the wizard got up and headed to the door.

"Try not to lose zis while I am away Penelope. And try to identify the materials used, zat shouldn't be above your abilities, my dear."

"It isn't even - fine. I'll take care of your shiny new toy while you are in Costa Rica. Just don't be surprised if I already published a paper by then," the younger witch said as her parting shot while her colleague was already out of the door.

"Das wäre eine angenehme Überraschung!"

"Was soll das jetzt bedeuten?"

"Nun ja - "

* * *

"That was - "

"Odd? Barmy? Mad as a hatter? Dumbledore-esque?" Tonks completed her boyfriend's sentence as they watched the blonde exchange another, quieter goodbye next to the two guards. "I wasn't sure what to expect of a magical scientist, but at least he wasn't as bad as the Unspeakables."

"I had hoped for more somehow. Because even if the bloody relic is from Atlantis, that still doesn't explain why everyone is trying to get their hands on this thing. The Minister wouldn't rebuild the DMLE after his ideas just to get something for the display case in his office," Harry argued, but for the first time, Tonks didn't look convinced.

"What if we are trying to read too much into this? What if 's just some ol' power grab because Scrimgeour wasn't satisfied with what he could legally do? Or maybe someone taking over behind the scenes and just using him as a puppet and Slughorn just knew too much?"

"I thought you said that there was more to this."

"I know, but I thought that we'd find answers here, not more questions - This whole thing suddenly became very science-y and you have to admit that we are out of our element here. Well, unless you secretly took one of Podebrady's classes while I took a shower this morning…" Nym said and took a deep breath which did not calm her at all. "We traveled hundreds of miles so that an old man could tell us that our stone is from bloody Atlantis before he has to leave for a months and the only people who might know more are either somewhere in Finland or wouldn't even think about talking with us since they support Voldemort because they want the Rock back. And even if we find someone, it might be months before they can us that we're hunted over an antique decoration - "

"I - I get what you mean," Harry softly said after a moment of thought. "I have no clue what this whole mess is about or why the Ministry acts the way it does, but at least we have two leads on who might solve this. That's two more than we had yesterday."

"Yes, but that doesn't answer our questions, it just adds to them. It's just - I could make sense out of most evidence as an Auror, or at least knew who could, but here we went to the expert and he could only make an educated guess where that bloody stone came from. Nothing on its use or why the Ministry would throw their own laws out of the window - "

"So what do you want to do?"

"Well I… I don't know. A wild goose chase in Scandinavia doesn't sound that tempting, but at the same time I don't have a better idea either," Nym said and let out a defeated sigh.

"I just hope that this Sinclair is friendlier than Professor Podebrady. I swear, he and Snape must be related," Harry grumbled, which got a laugh out of Tonks at last.

* * *

 **AN:**

By now, most of you should be able to tell where this story is going. Voldemort is not forgotten, but in January 1997 he was still focused on Britain. He and his Death Eaters will certainly play a role, but he is neither the only nor the biggest antagonist here. Due to the nature of this fic, I will be resorting to OCs, even if most won't make multiple appearances.

Should I include translations for segments in foreign languages like German or Czech? And if so, should they be at the end of the chapter or in brackets after the relevant segment?

A ridiculous amount of research went into writing this, and while I will spare you the details, lets just say that it was a pain in the arse to make sure all travel times check out, if the places I mention were a thing in 1997 and since the weather is written as it was in the Winter 96/97, that had to be looked up as well. A rather nice Mercedes during that time would have been a W124 or a W210. Those could reach 220 kph/135 mph, something that is perfectly legal in Germany. Also, I have never been in Amberg (I drove past it once) and the hotel is made up, even if similar buildings can be found throughout southern Germany.


	11. Lapland

The next morning, Harry was woken by the familiar tapping of a claw against glass. In his half-asleep state and the darkness before the sunrise, it took him half a minute to open the window and another long moment to realise that it was no other than Hedwig, who had apparently undertaken the nearly thousand miles long trip from Scotland and was not as happy to see him as he had expected.

"Sorry girl, I'm not staying in one place and Hagrid can take better care of you than I right now." Apparently, that answer was not satisfying, or at least that's how Harry interpreted the not-so-kind pecking aimed at his finger. "I'm sorry I don't have much work for you."

Another peck and a death glare later, he got the idea that this was her point.

"Guess I've been a shitty friend lately. I mean, Ron probably spent most of the holidays with his tongue in Lavender's mouth and Hermione gets to see her parents again…"

"Who…" Tonks began to ask but was interrupted by a yawn. "Who 're you talking to Hon?"

"To Hed - to myself really. Hedwig showed up and I realised that with everything going on, I completely forgot to write Hermione and Ron. I can just imagine what they are thinking when they read the Prophet."

"I - mmm - don't care, close the fucking window and get back into bed- I want my pillow back - You - You - "

With that, she fell back asleep and Harry looked around for something to write on. Rummaging through the drawers, he eventually found a small notebook with an advertisement for a local brewery and a ballpoint pen and began to write. While he couldn't just write where he and Tonks were staying because someone might just copy Umbridge and attack Hedwig, at the very least he had to reassure his friends that everything was alright and the Ministry just went through its filing cabinet and brought back last year's plans to deal with him. Once finished, he turned to his owl. "You can deliver regular paper, right?"

If looks could kill, the Chosen One would have died right there, smitten by his familiar for asking stupid questions. _Really, what was her human thinking? A delivery was a delivery, and parcels weren't wrapped in parchment either._

"Alright, alright. Take these letters and bring them to Hermione and Ron."

* * *

Later, when Tonks was awake and while Penelope was busy organising their trip to Finland, Harry was dragged through the Magical Quarters of Prague. Unlike Diagon Alley with its medieval charm, Okres Vltavy looked like it had been rebuilt more recently and diligently maintained ever since, white paint shining from every nook and cranny. Green trees lined the streets, magically defying the freezing cold. Even the pavement looked freshly polished, undoubtedly due to a fancy preservation spell. The still early hour ensured that most streets were deserted, but that did little to soothe his unease.

"I stand out like an elephant in a seafood store," Harry pointed out and ran a hand through his hair. " - Or something like that. This is ridiculous."

"Don't worry, no one will recognise you."

"Yes, they will only notice the bloke who looks like someone poured a pint of blood over his head."

"The dye spray doesn't look like advertised, I'll give you that. But no one will see you and think 'Oh, that's Harry Potter'," Tonks replied for what felt like the sixth time. _Failed blood magic ritual_ might not be the same as _Weasley red_ , but it still made for a good disguise. "And besides, usually I can use magic and not a spray can with instructions in a language I can only order drinks in. But given how volatile wand testing can be - I don't want to become known for blowing up my boyfriend in a magical accident."

"That's good, because I don't fancy exploding myself. Besides, that would be quite rude."

"Yeah, you're supposed to warn your girlfriend before you explode all over her."

"What do you - Oh. Oh - Do you have to turn everything into sex?"

"Sex is fun and most people, yourself included, are far too uptight about it. Besides, 's fun to tease you, " Nym replied with a doe-eyed look of pure innocence which made Harry shake his head. "Hon, you know how awesome sex is for me, I think the demonstrations you got were quite poly-juicy. And I know how much you enjoy this..."

The following kiss left Harry dazed, shoved against a lamppost and grinning like a loon. Tonks tried to pull away but he kept her close, relishing how safe it felt to be in her arms. They were in an open street, in a strange city, in a foreign country Harry whose language Harry couldn't even speak, completely vulnerable if someone decided to curse them, and yet all he felt was a serene sense of safety.

The Gryffindor tried to find the proper words to convey just how much he relished those moments, how much he had needed her strength last summer, but Harry found nothing to say. He had endured Snape, Umbridge and the Dursleys. He knew it took a lot to push him past his limits. Yet when Sirius death did just that, Nym had been there. Sirius might have chosen suicide by Death Eater, and they hadn't spent much time together, but his godfather had still been the only adult who had been firmly in his corner, the last tangible link to the parents he didn't get to know. Tonks had been the crutch he had needed back then, she had taught him Occlumency to prevent any repeat experiences and only recently she had gotten him out of ministerial custody. Since words failed him, Harry simply held her close, his green eyes not leaving her magenta ones, their foreheads touching, their noses just fractions of an inch apart.

At first, she was surprised by the sudden intensity in his gaze but relished the feeling nonetheless. Harry wasn't good at articulating anything related to his feelings, and yet words weren't needed since his deep gratitude was plainly visible in his eyes. He clutched her tighter and Tonks ran a hand through his hair and traced imaginary lines across his back with the other before she pulled his head into the crook of his neck.

"I got you."

Harry's wide smile might have been hidden from the world by her black coat, but she heard his content sigh as he took in the now-familiar scent of cinnamon and leather. An older wizard in a purple robe, however, decided that this kind of moments shouldn't be had in public, loudly cleared his throat and, once the Brits looked towards him, shook his head with clear disapproval. A green-haired witch in her twenties, on the other hand, gave them a thumbs-up while shamelessly ogling the pair. Tonks matched the minty shade of her hair, which earned them a bright smile and another thumbs-up as they left towards Hůlka's, the only wandcrafter in the Heart of Europe.

* * *

The store, much like the entire district, was made out of marble, its white sheen enough to put Gringotts to shame. And although the interior looked like a pompous palace, choosing a wand wasn't a fancy affair with a waiter delivering champagne and caviar in between badly matched foci, even if the countless mosaics and painted ceiling put most galleries to shame.

"Who is the customer here?" a middle-aged witch wanted to know, her question slurred by a mixture of indefinable accents. She must have used their apparently not so quiet whispers to figure out that neither of the two potential customers spoke Czech. Her blue and red robe was an odd contrast to her green eyes and black hair, almost as if she had taken the outfit from a medieval fair. Before Harry could answer, Tonks pushed him a step forward and he was immediately assaulted by an army of measuring tapes which had sprung out of nowhere. Just as quickly as he had been tied up like a rolled roast, the instruments retreated to a nook underneath the wooden counter and a scroll appeared in front of the clerk. She looked at it for a moment before waving her wand and a couple of boxes flew from the shelves.

"Try this."

The process was the same as at Ollivander's, only with fewer catastrophic results like broken laps or emptied shelves. At the same time, there were very few signs of a magical reaction at all. As he had to try more and more wands, Harry was getting more and more frustrated because nothing happened. "Are you sure that these are actually wands."

"Tricky customer, thinks that getting angry will match a wand quicker. What was your previous one like?"

"Uhm, Holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches…"

"Really? Try this one then," the witch replied in a tone as if Harry was an idiot. And indeed, that focus was the first one to which he had a strong adverse reaction. "Ollivander must have been drunk to give you a Phoenix core... Then again, he insists on limiting himself to just three creatures…"

"So what now?"

"Well, how about oak and water snake, ten inches?"

Harry took the wand out of its box and waved it through the air, leaving a trail of glowing green smoke behind. It was the first time he had felt something in that store, even if it was completely different from what he was used to. Not a warm tingle, but more like a soft hum which travelled through his very bones. "So this is a no then?"

"What? Is a good match, why are you not satisfied?"

"I thought a match would produce coloured sparks - "

"What are you, eleven? Have you not learned to better control your magic since then?"

"What I am more curious about," Tonks cut in for the first time in twenty minutes, previously content to throw Harry the odd grimace. "Aren't water snakes non-magical creatures?"

"Yes, but these were caught in a magical grove near Alytus, that's in Lithuania, so obviously it has taken in the magic from both its environment and its magical prey. Zukanev's law of ambient magic should be covered as one of the basics of magical education. And here I thought that Hogwarts was one of the best schools in the world - "

"No need to get snippy with her. We take the wand and then we're leaving," Harry said icy and pulled out a pouch of gold. The witch clearly looked like she wanted to say a lot more unfriendly things, but silently took the money and glared at them as they walked out. Unpleasant clerk aside, Harry didn't even try to keep his grin contained. He had a wand again. Perhaps not his trusty holly one, but the oaken one was definitely better than Nym's spare. Now all he needed was a place where he could get some practice with his new wand, and Penny again helped him by calling one of her colleagues.

* * *

The coach of the duelling team gave them access to her facility in exchange for a go at Harry. Unfamiliar with the new wand and outclassed by at least five decades, Ms Jirsa allowed two of Harry's offensive combinations bounce off her shield before twisting to her left and nailing Harry with a banishing charm which slammed him into the padded walls. But before the Czech witch could comment on his lacklustre performance, Tonks had jumped to the starting position opposite of her.

"Do think that you have a better chance, Pinky?"

"I don't think, I guarantee it - You know, Harry's duel reminded me of his first time. Rushed with little preparation and over within a minute," the metamorph said with a wicked grin while her brunette opponent squirmed in discomfort, her face turning an interesting shade of red. "Of course the remarkable thing about Harry is that he gets back up and is ready for another round."

Harry gaped at his girlfriend while she suddenly sprung into action and performed a slashing motion and the telltale red of the stunning spell flew through the air. Jirsa was caught off guard and quickly scrambled to cast a shield charm. Just as the stunner was about to connect, the barrier flashed brightly and flickered out of existence. Therefore the red light caught the older witch square in the chest and knocked her out cold.

"You fight dirty," the Czech woman pouted once Tonks had revived her from involuntary nap time. She might have fifty years of experience to her name, but Jirsa had not been familiar with the old pain curse the former Auror had opened up with.

The precursor of the Cruciatus was a lot weaker than the torture curse, but held the distinct advantage of being invisible. It had fallen out of favour with dark wizards due to the more effective alternatives, but families like the Blacks still taught their children all sorts of disturbing magic, and this was no exception. Therefore it wasn't a huge surprise when Andromeda had taught her daughter that spell to blast through the shields of an unsuspecting opponent. "Says the grandmother who thinks that fighting a sixteen-year-old with a new wand would be anything but a one-sided thrashing. Come on Harry, show me what you can do."

* * *

Harry wasn't sure what kind of administrative magic Penny had used, but she had gotten them a pair of plane tickets to Helsinki via Frankfurt and over four hundred thousand Czech Korunas for the contract work of "P&T Enterprises". He and Tonks had blinked at that amount for a long time while the blonde laughed at their gobsmacked expressions before explaining that it was roughly worth ten grand in Pound Sterling or 400 Galleons. It was a decent amount which would take care of further travel costs yet not enough to retire on a Caribbean island and slurp cocktails all day long.

After an eight hour layover in Helsinki where they had stocked up on maps, another layer of winter clothes and exchanged their Korunas into Finnish Markka, the connecting flight left the Finnish capital northbound. It was an old, loud plane that looked like it belonged into the RAF museum at Cosford and not passenger service. The flight comfort was even worse, the hard and too small seats a stark contrast to the relative luxury of Finnair's and Lufthansa's economy classes. Harry wasn't sure if this was Penelope's version of a practical joke or just poor planning, but there was no way their flight was a regular connection. He tried to fall asleep, but the roar of the piston engines made sure that it remained just a feeble attempt until he gave up and stared out of the window until something odd caught his attention in the distance.

"Nym?"

"Hmm?"

"Is that normal?"

"I don't think a plane is supposed to make any of these sounds. My grandpa had better stuff in Korea, and that was more than forty - "

"No, I mean, out there!" Harry said with a gesture towards a distant light which stood out from the oppressive darkness of the long Arctic night.

"Maybe 's the airport. We are descending after all."

"But we are flying away from it. And somehow, I think that this light is - Magical - You know, like Hogwarts."

"Now if only we had something to take a closer look. Oh wait, we do because I thought ahead and bought a pair of binoculars."

"They still totally ripped you off."

"300 quid for a Zeiss is a good price. Now budge over so I can look at your - Fuck me - "

"Was I right?"

"That's - that's definitely magical. But it - it looks like giant floating snowballs."

"Floating snowballs?"

"'S at least fifty miles from here, this pile of horseshit is shaking worse than my friend Ashley before the Potion NEWT and my binoculars might be good, but they are not that good."

"Can I have your binoculars for a second?"

"Sure, knock yourself out."

Harry soon had to concede that Tonks had been right, it was nearly impossible to get a good look at the strange thing in the distance, but from what he could make out it was indeed a bunch of floating snowballs. Unfortunately, the plane chose that moment to bank to the right and by the time the plane levelled out again, the mysterious phenomenon had disappeared behind the horizon as they began the final approach on Ivalo. The flight attendant made a curt announcement about touching down on Finland's northernmost Airport and after a shaky landing, they were back on firm ground.

* * *

What stood out like a sore thumb from above turned out to be invisible from the ground. A wall of tall trees, each burdened by tons of snow, making it impossible to see anything beyond half a mile at best and the thick fog took another two thirds away from that. Therefore Harry and Tonks were stuck in Inari for three days before they could begin their search for the mysterious light, which was their best lead towards the elusive Doctor. Since she was working on an unplottable dig site, it was impossible to give the pair more accurate directions than "North of Lake Inari", but what was the probability to find two different large and mysterious magical phenomenon in the same desolated corner of Scandinavia?

After a futile hour of searching empty forests and since the weather had decided to throw a wrench into their plans, Tonks changed their plans. Instead of apparating across the countryside until they found the floating snow again, she went back to the airport and rented a Land Rover Defender. Driving around in a heated car was a lot more comfortable than apparating through the wildness at twenty degrees below the freezing point. The two feet of snow and dense vegetation made it impossible to drive off the roads, but the car had no issues with forest paths or smaller service roads.

"I have been thinking - Are you sure that we want to do this?"

"There's not a lot we could do instead of this," Harry pointed out as they watched the snowfall, the small hot tub of their hotel the only thing between them and the freezing cold. The next day should supposedly bring a clear sky, but so far the snowfall showed no signs of slowing down.

"Anything would be better. We've spent the last week dicking around and have nothing to show. We have one lead, following the word of a professor because the thing we took from a shady dealer looks like something he has read about. Not seen, just read some bloody description. But the best part is that when we find that Doctor Sinclair, she might very well tell us that she can't help us and has no clue where to find the other guy who MIGHT know more. That's just - "

"Nym, you're right when you say that we might be wasting a lot of time here. Maybe we are chasing ghosts here because that thing is actually a Chinese paperweight. But for all we know, this might be a magical doomsday device which explodes unless you stroke it every third full moon. Or it's a magical treasure map that will lead us to the lost Amber Room. But, what else can we do? There's nothing we can do about Voldemort until the Ministry stops trying to throw us into Azkaban. And to stop them from that, we need to prove our innocence, prove that this thing is harmless and not some highly dangerous thing they make it out to be."

"We could leave," Tonks whispered, her voice almost drowned out by the hot tub. "We could leave the whole mess behind and just disappear, build a new life in New Zealand or on the Falklands and never look back, maybe even become heroes if the Argentinians decide to have another go..."

"Do you want to?" Harry replied equally quiet, their eyes locking and yet there was no hardness or edge to it. He knew that the artefact was important, but dragging Tonks around did not seem fair. She had her own career, her own life and as much at it pained him to suggest this, he didn't want to pull her down more than he already had. "I don't want you to leave, but if you - "

"I'm not leaving you alone in the middle of nowhere. And I don't want to leave Britain to Voldemort, leave people to die! I don't want to, but I've got to and… Argh! Why did the Minister have to be a gigantic fucking moron?"

Tonks deflated and slurped forwards onto Harry, who put his arms around her and trailed his fingers through her hair, mirroring the little things she had done to him and trailing feather-light kisses towards her ear until there was no need for anything but the softest whisper.

"We could run away and never be heard of again. I mean, this isn't exactly how I'd imagine my sixth year at Hogwarts - But - Thanks to this mess, I'm actually getting to see a little more of the world. I've spent most of my life in Surrey or the Highlands, with the odd trip to London or Devon in between. But in the last two weeks, I've been all across the Isles, crossed the North Sea on an enormous ferry, driven through four countries, been on a plane for the first, second and third time in my life and seen more of the world than I could have imagined. I mean, just look at us, sitting in a hot tub in some remote village beyond the polar circle. We have been here three days and the sun has yet to rise. Isn't that something?"

"Hon, if you want to experience awesome things then I'm taking you to try Turkish pastries."

"So we're going to Turkey next?"

"Nope, Cologne. There's this fantastic bakery not far from the station. If you want chips, we simply have to visit Ghent. Or maybe the suburbs of Mainz if you're more into kebab. Of course, we can always go to Italy if you want some quality pasta or ice creme - "

"We had Kebab in Leeds."

"But that was British Kebab, which is but a pale shadow of the German one. There's that one grill on the southern edge of the village which will cause you to have a taste orgasm. They use all kinds of different spices and when you take a bite -"

Moral crisis averted, Harry was content to listen to his girlfriend's ramble on about food and her tales of crashing these places late at night and ordering large amounts of food for this party or that international girls' night. Perhaps it were his previous experiences with stopping Voldemort's schemes at Hogwarts, but Harry was sure that they were in the right place. Compared to some of the straws he had to grasp at in the past, their lead on Sinclair and Quintain was definitely solid and finding the two scientists shouldn't be that difficult, even if it took some time. Besides, he had been honest when it came to seeing more of the world. While far from his childhood visions about travelling the continent with no Dursleys around, he really didn't know anyone with whom he'd rather be exiled from Britain with.

* * *

It was the faint twilight of the 8th of January when they caught a break more than half an hour north of Inari. Tonks had followed E75 northwards before taking a small forestry road which followed a frozen river through a dense woodland. About two miles down the winding path, Harry noticed an odd glow backlighting a hilltop on their right.

"Stop, no, no, back up a bit and look over there!"

Nym, after doing what he asked, stepped on the footboard and grabbed her binoculars. It was perhaps not the average way to find an apparition target, but it was enough to properly the place and side along Harry there. Once he got over the unexpected squeezing through what felt like a magical straw, the couple found themselves in front of the oddest place either of them had ever seen.

Stretching out beneath them was a small plain which, unlike its surroundings, was completely devoid of trees. In their place were shards of ice, each easily bigger than Hagrid, floating in complete silence as fog hung in between them. There was no higher order, each piece of frozen water completely unmoving and illuminated by the fog itself. In the middle was an odd structure, looking like someone had cut off a hill and a small, slightly elevated path lead there. "You think it's safe to go that way?"

"You mean because of the glowing fog?"

"No Nym, because Mars is in the fourth house and Uranus is bright today - "

"I'm not putting weird glowing fog on my arse, if that's what you are asking, these pants were expensive. _Butt_ , I suppose we need to get a little closer so that I can use detection charms. Hold on - "

Another apparation later, they stood at the edge of the fog, an oppressive silence sending chills down their necks. There wasn't a single sound besides the soft squeaking of the snow beneath their boots and the rustling of their winter coats. Tonks began to cast a wide array of revealing magic while Harry simply took in the bizarre landscape. It turned out that the glow didn't come from the mist but from waterfalls of orange, glowing water that just ran down the shards of ice silently. It wasn't exactly the presence of a dementor, but it still filled him with unease to see such a magical oddity. Hogwarts certainly never mentioned these kinds of natural magic, like water which looked like liquified fire or ice which defied gravity.

"The fog is completely safe, but I wouldn't touch the water. There's some kind of algae which I can't make heads or tails off, especially since freezing doesn't even begin to describe the weather."

Walking on the path was probably the most surreal experience in Harry's life, seeing the glowing liquid in almost bog-like puddles in between the snow. It felt like something was watching them, just waiting for the right moment to strike, but the anticipated attack never came. His wand drawn, Harry's state of vigilance would have made Mad-Eye proud. Even Tonks seemed tense, throwing detection charms in all directions, eyes darting across their surroundings.

Ten tense minutes passed before they reached the cut hilltop, finding stairs which lead down a flagstone structure which looked like the base of a broken tower, it's cellar the only thing still remaining intact. But there was no further hint as for where any entrance could be found, leaving them with nothing but a mysterious, snow-covered cellar which lacked a roof.

* * *

Lord Voldemort considered himself a patient man, even if the sheer incompetence of the Death Eaters was grating on his nerves. They had used to be the elite, the Crème de la Crème of Magical Britain. Wizards who could sweet-talk secrets out of anyone in the Ministry, witches who had been able to distract with their physical features so that their victims never noticed the curse flying until it had been too late and a legion of loyal enforcers who weren't above dirtying their hands in order to make his visions reality. That had been twenty years ago. A civil war and Azkaban had culled his ranks, his inner circle a shell of its former self. Even Bella, his protégé and most trusted, was all but a shadow of what the woman had become twenty years ago after he had agreed to spare her the Tonks family in exchange for her servitude and complete loyalty.

Apparently, his exile had been less than fruitful, an entire generation went down the drain. There was no Rookwood or Nott Sr within his current recruits while the Minister made it clear that he wasn't particularly fond of the Death Eaters and a month worth of fresh blood found itself in ministerial custody. It was an annoyance and not a real threat, but he would have to do something about it. A raid was due, not just a regular attack but an utter slaughter, much like what Amelia Bones reaped for her defiance. From what the Greengrass girl had reported, the last of the once Noble House of Bones was a sickly, scared bint, a fitting end for a bloodline which dared to take a stand against him.

Those Weasleys were a prime target, but they were too closely associated with Dumbledore to convey his displeasure with the Minister himself. No, they would get their due eventually, but he needed to send a message first. The Ogden family were close friends of Scrimgeour, but Tiberius had diligently paid his dues. Maybe the Brand family could meet its untimely end - Yes, that idea had merit and the Minister would soon find his in-laws decorating his office -

That train of thought was cut short by the ornate doors as one of his uninspired followers disturbed the ramblings of Fenrir Greyback, whom he had long tuned out. "My Lord - My Lord - I - The Spanish - Potter!"

"Take a breath Farley and gather your thoughts," Voldemort ordered and the panting man did as he was ordered.

"Yes, Milord - I - just received word from the High Inquisitor, the head of their intelligence, that Harry Potter is in Prague. There had been a threat to their security and the responsible person had been in contact with Potter. The Spaniards wouldn't say what exactly got them worked up and buzzing around like a swarm of angry Cornish pixies, but they are sure that Potter is involved. They issued a warrant for his arrest on some made-up treason charges and doubled the bounty the DMLE is offering. There is even talk about an invasion…" Farley trailed off once he noticed that Voldemort hadn't moved an inch and he began to sweat when his master didn't react at all for a long time. The entire court was deadly quiet, growing nervous and yet not daring to break the silence.

"Prague - How interesting - Potter abroad isn't the main priority, but - " the Dark Lord said slowly, one corner of his mouth twitching upwards. A collective shiver ran down everybody's spine as they watched the unusual sight of their leader displaying any kind of positive emotion. "MacMillan, leak Potter's whereabouts to the Prophet and have them run that story for a week. The Ministry is doing its best to smear Potter again and it is our duty to aid them in this pursuit. Not only did he run away, but he is also hiding behind the foreigners who broke into _our_ Ministry, who invaded _our_ soil. The Prophet should need no further incentive to paint him as a coward and a traitor. Yaxley, you will look around in Prague and find out where Potter is hiding. Do _NOT_ reveal yourself. Rookwood, I need a floor plan of the Ministry. Rodolphus, Rastaban, pick ten recruits and prepare them for a raid three days from now. Mulciber, you will do the same and then submit to Bella, who will teach the Minister's in-laws the error of their ways. Keep their faces untouched, we wouldn't want any misunderstandings when we demonstrate the consequences of insolence."

The following applause was half-hearted at best, the memory of last summer's disaster still fresh in their minds. This time, things would be different. He would lead himself, the first through the breach, not shouting orders from behind like the personification of incompetence called Lucius Malfoy.

"Comrades, friends! You are doubting our victory. Perhaps not in your hearts, but in your minds. It has been a long time since we had been victorious as mistakes were made. Just look at you, the vanguard of the magical world, wasting away in a stuffy Manor while our enemies grow stronger still. Are you content to let those Muggle loving fools ruin your future? Your children's future?"

Voldemort waited until the wave of shouted "no"s ebbed away before drawing himself to his full height, looking down onto his followers. They still had some fire in them, so perhaps not all was lost.

"My most loyal went through fourteen years of hell before I could break their chains. I entrusted them into the hands of Lucius Malfoy, believing that he would take good care of his brothers in arms. If I wouldn't know just how incompetent the late Malfoy patriarch had become, I would believe his acts to be treason. The glutton sipped French wines with his wife and enjoyed five-course meals, as if a few luxuries would be enough to treat more than a decade in Azkaban. He wasted precious time arguing with Potter instead of fulfilling the simple task given to him. I failed you in that hour, trusting a man whose incompetence knew no bounds. Make no mistake, that kind of failure has only one outcome, and by the looks of it, Lucius' son is following in his footsteps - "

The shouting became more enthusiastic, the witches and wizards trying to outdo their neighbours and make it clear that they were not made from the same mould as the Malfoys.

"Yes, there had been setbacks, but only the enduring reached greatness. Merlin did not give up the first time he came across an obstacle. Did he give up when no one could wield his enchanted sword? Did he give up his vision every time a Muggle doubted his wisdom? Did he give up every time his advice was disregarded and the Muggles went to war against their petty neighbours? Now, you might object that Merlin is Merlin, a legendary figure while you are no one compared to his memory. But even the lowest commoner can achieve greatness with enough determination. If not for the persistence of Thomas Cranmer, it would have taken a lot of spilt blood to drive the Catholic Church back across the Channel. He spent decades living with the Muggles, twisting minds, deceiving and steering Kings towards a path free of the Rome's shackles. It was the work of many decades, but he never faltered, even when the traitorous Muggles burned him alive. And he was but a commoner, whilst you are the children of the Great Magical Bloodlines, tracing back to the days of Avalon." As expected, there was enthusiastic applause and shouts which called for Muggle blood. It was easy to play his followers like a fiddle, but their loyalty would be greatly rewarded.

"Those are the examples we follow, great wizards whose deeds shaped the world for centuries to come! We will endure the hardships along the way, tear down every wall in our path and pay them back tenfold. They have sown the wind, now it is the time to reap the storm. We will smash all those who stand against us and let their blood soak the ground on which we build a new rule on!"

* * *

"You'd think that a hidden door would have some sort of doorbell in case someone had to get in urgently…"

"Nym, this is supposed to be the entrance to a barrow. Why would you ever need to get inside a grave urgently?"

"What if you wake up craving necromancy?"

"Do you actually know somebody who does that?" Harry asked before he noticed the glint in Tonks's eyes. "That was a rhetorical question."

"Mum wishes that she could revive her parents just to murder them at least once a month."

"Yes, but your mum is weird."

"Mum is awesome. Well, maybe a little weird, but definitely awesome. Now we just need to find a way inside."

Countless spells failed to reveal an answer and yet solving that riddle turned out to be a lot easier than Harry had anticipated since his girlfriend, becoming more and more annoyed at the lack of a clue, slipped on an icy spot hidden beneath the snow and crashed face forwards into the wall, her right hand going through an illusion instead of stopping her momentum, making her fall halfway through the hidden entrance. Harry hadn't been watching her, but the unhealthy sounding crunch made him spin around, only to see his girlfriend seemingly pull her head out of a solid wall, her nose swollen and deformed in a very disturbing fashion, blood streaming down her cheeks and dripping off her chin. He drew his wand but stopped as he had no idea how to heal such kind of injury. Coincidentally, it had been Tonks who straightened out his nose once Malfoy had been done with it.

"I feel like I should curse this wall, but it's just a fucking Illusion," the metamorph pouted as blood poured from her nose. Seeing her boyfriends worry and him frozen mid-motion, she rolled her eyes before tapping the broken protuberance with her wand to make the bleeding stop before shifting it back to its original, slightly pointy appearance. "See, all patched up. Now let's find out what I found at such high costs."

Beyond the illusion, a narrow tunnel was dug into the grey stone, barely taller than the secret passage which connected Hogwarts with Honeydukes. Harry went first, using his wand to create a little light but always ready to cast a shield charm if necessary while Tonks was right behind him, one hand on his shoulder while the other was once more busy searching for hidden magic but finding none. In fact, the tunnel was empty of anything even remotely interesting, only tool marks marring the otherwise barren walls.

Their trek through the underground structure continued in silence, the lack of any branching the only remarkable oddity in the monotony of the shaft. About a quarter of an hour passed before the stone became smoother and the tunnel opened up into a wide chamber, its high ceiling invisible in the weak glow of their wands as the granite walls absorbed much of the light. The centre was, oddly enough, covered in leaves and small branches, with only a few purple crystals sticking out. A short woman was crouched across one of them, her dark hair covered most of her face as she kept casting spells and talked to a blonde man in his fifties. Both were clad in padded, white overalls and kept staring at the objects in front of them, completely oblivious to their guests.

"Excuse me? Do you know where we can find a Doctor Sinclair?"

* * *

 **AN:**

I was stuck without a computer for nearly a month and an update was long overdue, so here you go. Originally I intended to publish a quick update two weeks ago, but that short chapter rapidly grew and now surpassed 6500 words.

I turned Cranmer into a wizard, but that doesn't mean that things have happened exactly like Voldemort described them. I generally try to avoid rewriting history since changes in the past should affect the present as well. So you won't be seeing Rowling's "Grindelwald started World War 2" bullshit here, even if that part of magical history will become relevant sooner rather than later.

The overall weather situation is based on the historical data I could dig up for both Inari and Prague, even if there were a couple of plot-related changes (bad weather around the 6th of January instead of the light snowfalls recorded). And yes, I dug through the Finnish weather archives to make sure.

Also, is anyone bothered by the use of Nym as a nickname? Because I have a plot-convenient way to change it to Dora in future chapters if there's a strong dislike for Nym (I'm not going to edit the whole story just for that).


	12. Underground

"I can tell you a lot about Atlantis, but not why someone would kill for its relics," Doctor Sinclair said as she mustered the two Brits in front of her. She had listened to their story with professional curiosity but had some reservations about the whole thing. It simply made no sense that -

"Then think again. The Ministry went bonkers over it. The Minister used them as a pretence to abolish the entire Auror Corps. My former superior was randomly transferred, and my mentor says that he was in fact arrested on treason charges, as were half of the high ranking Aurors."

"Yes, but - "

"As for the rock, its previous owner was summarily executed right in front of Harry, who nearly ended up in Azkaban for merely being there."

"Look around you Miss Tonks, what do you see?"

"Ruins?" the metamorph replied, confused by the sudden change of topic and unsure what the scientist was aiming at. There was nothing but the magical tents of the expedition and stone battered by time. Some structures were smoother than others, some inscribed with strange runes and some reduced to little but dust. Two dozen stones were part of three ritual circles, each two steep steps downwards compared to the previous one. A small pit was in the centre, with a ladder sticking out of it.

The walls were man-made, cut into the rock as if with modern machines or poured into a mould like concrete. Yet there was nothing noteworthy about the whole thing. No crucified skeletons, no stakes, no glowing, floating things and no fancy ornaments. Only ancient stone and what little the doctor had brought with her. A few tents lined the far side of the cave, the tables in between them overflowing with odds and ends, papers and a massive pile of books.

"You are the third and fourth humans who set foot in a ritual chamber which predates any known settlement in Scandinavia by thousands of years. These are the remains of a civilization which disappeared when our ancestors had yet to figure out how to grow plants. A civilisation which shouldn't exist by our understanding of the human past. They disappeared without a trace and left nothing but hidden ruins beneath the earth," the Doctor said reverently and took a deep breath, her olive skin glowing under the magical light. When she spoke about her passion, Sinclair's accent got thicker, French, German and something else mixed together. "This is my life. Exploring the remains of realms long lost. Find out what they were like, what their lives were like. Their culture, their society, absolutely everything. I do not care for politics or deal with them."

"This is not just some _politics_. The entire British Ministry of Magic went insane over these artefacts. They caused an act of aggression and nearly started a war over rumours surrounding them. Clearly, these artefacts are more than pretty paperweights."

"Do you have it with you?"

"No, it is in P - "

"In a secure location," Nym cut in and Harry raised an eyebrow. After all, they had already explained where they had come from. "We were told that there are two people who might be able to help us to make some sense of the whole mess, you and your former teacher Professor Quintain - "

"I haven't seen Quintain in years."

" - And then you tell us - What?"

"The last time we spoke was in June of 1995."

"Just great!"

"Do you know where he is?" Harry asked and, unlike his girlfriend, didn't pace around the table but tried his best to sound calm and diplomatic. Or at least as much as a boy of sixteen years could.

"We had been working for a few months near

Hunedoara in the ruins of Grindelwald's southern holdfast. Not that the fortress itself was of great value, but its storerooms were filled with stolen treasures. It will take decades to go through everything - "

"No offence Doctor, but why were you the ones doing that? You've just told us that you were experts in ancient magical history, not Grindelwald's reign. Wasn't he around 50 years ago?" Harry wanted to know. The whole reason for their trip to Finland was her knowledge of old things, not recent history.

"He is still alive as a matter of fact. And while his actions took place three millennia after my expertise, they were still relevant. We were following a lead - There was a sunken temple off the shore of Santorini and we spent nine months just to find it. But when we got there, it had been stripped bare of anything other than the sea life. We asked around the nearby villages and apparently, there had been an expedition during the German occupation." Sinclair paused for a moment, grabbed a cup and sipped her coffee. "After going through a lot of archives, we could confirm that there had been no Muggle expedition in that area, which only left Grindelwald. So we tried to find the stolen items in his lair. It had been partially destroyed at the end of the war, so we were expecting a lengthy task. I came across a scroll which mentioned prehistoric ruins in Northern Scandinavia, ruins of a people we have never even heard of, and here I am. Roland, on the other hand, wouldn't budge and kept looking for any hint about the sunken temple."

"Do you know if he is still there?"

"As I have said, I had no contact with him ever since, just a few reports to the Institute and a few letters to George."

"We also get a supply package once a month, delivered to a portkey point east of Inari. We tried to set up a direct delivery, but the packages never made it here. So I'm the one who picks them up," Frank Richter, a blonde giant of a man, added. He was the Doctor's assistant and responsible for the organisation of their expedition. "The professor used to write occasionally, but that stopped last summer."

"If I may ask, do you know why?"

"He was pretty vague and only mentioned being followed. I thought he was just being paranoid, but from what you have told me there might be more to it. So please Mister Potter, tell me exactly what did happen to you so that you came looking for me?"

"As I said, a man who called himself Syd pulled me aside and asked questions about a Christmas party I had been to. He claimed that a whole bunch of people had been arrested afterwards and was trying to find a connection. It - he sounded like some lunatic, you know? Trying to find links where there are none. Syd looked very shady and pretty much told me that he'd do anything for gold. I thought he was barmy, but then the Hit Wizards showed up, he tried to run and they killed him. Just like that. Then - "

"Did he say anything else?" Sinclair interrupted once more.

"He told me that he owed me a debt for banishing Voldemort, even though that was my mother's doing. And supposedly, there was a meeting in the Department of Mysteries which got this whole mess going, but - "

"This, perhaps, might be the first clue. If that meeting ever happened, something which was said caused this paradigm shift."

"You believe his word?"

"Why not?" Sinclair challenged and put her hands on her hips. "Even if he was an untrustworthy criminal, those ought to get a fair trial, not a summary execution. The fact that he was killed for trying to flee makes whatever he said much more believable because it looks like your Ministry silenced him, permanently."

"But what could cause such a massive shift in the Ministry's behaviour? The Minister himself tried to get in Harry's good graces for months, and now he suddenly calls for his arrest."

"That I cannot say, Miss Tonks, at least not without more information. I try to stay away from that hole as far as possible unless I need funding, and even then it is mostly petitions and the patronage of a noble, not deciding the fate of a nation."

"Why are you so sure that the relict is the reason for this change and not just a pretence or entirely unrelated?" Richter wanted to know. "Is it even genuine?"

"Excuse me?"

"The artefact you found," Sinclair clarified in a tone as if Harry was a drooling imbecile. "Have you dated it yet? Cross-referenced its appearance with the known finds? Analysed its make-up, its chemical structure?"

"It is a few thousand years old, but that's all we know. We asked a friend, who got Professor Podebrady involved. He had business in America to attend to and therefore suggested that we find you, but he seems quite miffed that he couldn't spend more time with the blasted thing," Tonks replied slowly and took a deep breath. She had on hand in her hair and was half-tempted to yank it out. "I used to be an Auror and Harry here was still at Hogwarts. Then the Ministry declared open season on us and wanted to chuck him into Azkaban because he stood next to the previous owner."

"I still find that unlikely to be, but in the absence of a better explanation - "

"So did I, until I watched a Hit Wizard kick my boyfriend on the ground after arresting him on some flimsy pretence. Do you have any idea what it feels like to see someone you care be abused by the people sworn to protect you? People you used to work with?" Nym snapped. All pretence of diplomacy was forgotten as she tried her best to burn the scientists with a heated stare.

"Please try to see things from my perspective. Two people I don't know track me down at the edge of civilisation and demand that I drop everything to help them with what sounds like a far-fetched fantasy. I know that your Ministry ignored your dark wizard and the only one who tried to right things was a paranoid hypocrite," Sinclair replied evenly, although her patience seemed to run out. "But random arrests over a relict - I understand why a thief would kill to get his hands on treasures of the past, but a government? Not even the Spanish are that paranoid."

"Why does everyone keep mentioning the Spanish?" Harry wanted to know. It would also help to defuse the tension if the conversation went in a different direction.

"They found something - something ancient in the 1930s. There were a few articles published in academic journals, but after a month, everyone involved was dead. The Spanish Emperor issued a decree which banned all research into magic which predates the Celts and Phoenicians without going into the reasons for the ban. Countless conspiracy theories have sprung up ever since," Richter explained and stared at the ceiling.

"Conspiracy theories?"

"It is not unusual for those who explore the past to perish. Magical traps, curses, sometimes even undead creatures - And that's not even mentioning pathogens which are older than recorded history. But poor handling of a cursed grave is not as interesting as a government hunting rogue scientists who stole the secret to immortality," the Belgian witch snorted with dripping disdain. "The Spanish were already paranoid about old magic because they accidentally levelled Lisbon in 1755 when toying with an Aztek ritual they found two centuries before, but there is nothing even remotely close which would give the British a reason to do the same."

"What can we do to fully convince you?" Harry wanted to know.

"You could show us the object you have found, or take us where it is hidden," Frank pointed out before he shot another glare at the ceiling. "And can you please tell your friends to stop walking over our alarm wards?"

"Friends? We came here - DOWN!" Tonks shouted but unlike her and Harry, the archaeologists were not used to scramble for cover at a moment's notice. Instead, they stood still like deers in a headlight.

"What - "

Sinclair began to ask while her colleague stepped back in surprise. He had not even turned towards the incoming curse when the blue light slammed into his side. Frank stumbled forward and fell down on the stones hard, his chest oddly deformed. His eyes were wide open, but rolled back and didn't move at all.

" _Kendra Sinclair, by the order of Enrique XIII de Trastamara, Emperor of Hispania, its Viceroyalties and its Dependencies, you are under arrest for possession of state secrets and violation of the Elder Magic Decree! In compliance with the degree, you are considered a traitor and any amount of force is authorised to subdue you should you resist!"_

* * *

Crouched down behind a blue-shimmering shield, Tonks threw a piercing curse down the tunnel from where the witch had shouted. Her Spanish was too rusty to understand what was going on, but she could tell it apart from Finnish well enough. And there was absolutely no reason why anyone but the local law enforcement would arrest someone, much less curse first or kill a wizard from behind. Randomly blasting unarmed people through a cave wasn't what any legitimate government ought to do, therefore Tonks was not about to surrender the Doctor to these people, as annoying as she had been.

But while the former Auror and her boyfriend had quickly dropped in a defensive position and cast shields, Sinclair evidently had no combat experience.

 _"What did you do, moron?"_

"What - What - Gods, Frank!"

She tried to run over to her fallen colleague but collapsed when a red blur hit her.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because - " Tonks paused to throw a purple curse towards the tunnel entrance. " - Because she was about to run right in front of whoever wasted her friend."

"Now what?" Harry wanted to know after a muffled scream echoed through the cave. A witch in red robes stumbled forward, clutching her stomach, and collapsed into the main chamber.

"Now we defend ourselves."

For a second, the cave was eerily quiet before all hell broke loose. A multicoloured barrage came flying out of the narrow shaft, and while no spell found their mark, each made Harry cling more to the nearest pillar. "Right, should be a piece of cake after Voldemort!"

"No need to be snide. Just stay in cover and don't use anything which could collapse this place."

"Any actual ideas?"

"Keep an eye on the entrance. I'll take care of the lights," Tonks hissed and jerked her head towards the floating white orbs above. Muttering the counter charms, she watched as Harry reluctantly threw a few bone breakers down the corridor. Soon it was completely dark in the cave and the curses flying around did more to illuminate it than the enchanted ceiling. It wasn't much different from Hogwarts' one, but instead of showing the sky above the there were fine lines spun across its surface, dimly glowing in blue and red.

Crouched behind a cornerstone of the prehistoric ritual place, Harry and Tonks shared a look. "Just one way in or out. We can hold the corridor, but they can keep us in here just as easily."

"What the bloody fuck is going on?" Harry wanted to know after a second of looking around fanatically. He could deal with Death Eaters since he at least knew why they were trying to capture him. But whoever caused this mess remained a mystery. These random acts really made no sense to him. First people had been hunted down back home, then a war almost broke out over the head girl from his third year and now some archaeologist had been killed right in front of him.

"No idea what the Spaniards are doing here - "

"That was Spanish?"

"I think. Might have been Italian, but they were talking about Spain. It doesn't look like they want to have tea with us - "

"Oh really? Perhaps we should - " Harry trailed off as he noticed something shimmer to their left and sent a volley of stunners in the general direction.

The concealment charm faded as its caster tried to defend herself, but she was too slow, took two hits in rapid succession and collapsed to the ground.

"Good work. Can you cover me while I wake our friend up? Perhaps she knows a backdoor."

"Get going then," Harry hissed without looking at them while Nym bent down next to the doctor and revived her. A hand on Sinclair's shoulder kept her from jerking up as she slowly blinked a few times, struggling with the darkness of the cave.

"What - What happened? I had the strangest dream."

"Some Spanish wizards showed up and shouted something about arresting you. Do you remember what they said?"

"I - There was a blue flash and then - FRANK!"

"There is nothing we can do for your friend, but - "

"Oh goddess - "

"Focus Doctor! What can you tell us about this cave?" Harry asked without taking his eyes off the entrance. Where Tonks harsh attempts had failed, that simple request did snap Sinclair back to the danger at hand.

"It was dug into the stone roughly 14000 years ago when it was still covered by the ice of the Weichselian glaciation, millennia before any known human settlements. It was later used by the Sami - "

"Anything useful? Is there a second way out?"

"No - "

"Not even a drainage pipe?"

"This is a magical place originally carved under half a mile of ice. Do you honestly think that there would be something as mundane as a drainage pipe?" the Belgian witch asked in a tone usually reserved for annoying children. Only then she remembered what had happened a minute ago and visibly deflated. Yet Tonks did not notice her changed mood as her eyes were on the entrance.

"No need to get snippy, Princess. We need to get out of here now before we are overwhelmed!"

"What - what about Frank?"

"There is no way he survived that explosion, we've already told you. And judging by his ribcage, he was dead long before that," Tonks snapped. At some level, she felt bad for doing so since Sinclair had just lost a friend and they were in the middle of a stressful situation, yet the second part was the reason why the doctor couldn't break down at the time. _Cry when it won't cost you your life_ Moody had told her what felt like a decade ago.

"Dead? But - But - "

"Focus woman. You know this place better than we do. You need to find the way out or we will be joining your friend."

"Why can't we use the regular entrance?"

"Because that is a maze of long, straight tunnels where we'll be easy picking. Either we find a second way out or we have to clear a path!"

"But - "

"Do you have a better idea? Because I don't think that you brought enough food to make yourself comfortable and there's way too much magic around here to apparate."

"Is there any way to contact someone?" Harry asked before his girlfriend could escalate their argument or the Doctor snapped.

"Only by owl. Or by apparating to them. Well, we could also hike, but that - "

"Now is not the time," Tonks hissed through gritted teeth and drew herself up in front of Sinclair. "Focus on the important things. There's a bunch of people after you, and we are your best chance of getting out of this hole. You, Doctor, can either be an alive scientist on the run or a dead one in the ground. Which will it be?"

"I am not leaving without my work! Besides, how do I know that you are not working with these people?" Sinclair shouted back with a gesture towards the tunnel. "For all I know you staged this whole fight to get me out of here. You killed my friend."

"Why would we do that?"

"To lure me out, to take me away - "

"We were behind you with our wands drawn. If we'd wanted to harm you, we'd have done so long ago. If we'd wanted to take you, you would have been in the boot of our car an hour ago. And if we had wanted to interrogate you, we would have taken your friend alive and tortured him until you talked," Tonks said darkly. Slowly and unconsciously, she started to mirror Bellatrix Lestrange more and more. "So I ask again, Doctor. Do you want to be an archaeologist on the run or dead in this grave?"

"I - Goddess, I'm sorry, I just - "

"Accio Invisibility Cloaks!" Tonks shouted, pushed Sinclair aside and ducked back down as a shimmering garment and two curses came her way.

"How many are there?"

"Around ten I'd say," the former Auror guessed and blanketed a corner with spells until a robed figure was thrown back into the hard stone. "Now 's just those outside. They didn't expect that the good doctor might fight back and the first idiot panicked when Richter noticed her friends, so we might actually make it out of this one."

"That gives me a lot of confidence, Nym."

"Would be rather - "

"Harry, can you conjure smoke around the entrance?"

" _Fumus_!"

With a hissing noise, a thick white wall spread out and crept towards the single opening in the wall. There was a disturbance and a pink bolt slammed into it before the disillusioned wizard could do as much as blink.

"Two down, this is - "

She was interrupted by an odd clatter and a small pot of clay rolled into the chamber. Harry tried to make out what it was when a purple explosion knocked him over and the wind out of his lungs.

There was a tense silence in which an invisible shape moved through the purple mist and was hit by Harry's stunner and Nym's cutting curse in rapid succession. The man collapsed with a gurgling scream. His comrades, however, didn't even blink an eye and pressed forwards. One more fell, but at least five others broke out of the tunnel, into the cave, and immediately spread out while Harry scrambled to get back on his feet. His lungs were burning, his back hurt, he could feel a headache coming and it took a second to get his bearings straight, but by the time the room had stopped spinning, he was safely behind the nearest rock.

* * *

In theory, this should have been the set up for an easy arrest. They outnumbered the people inside by at least three to one, possibly with even more back-up awaiting orders. However, unlike the average thug, their prey had been baptised in fire by Voldemort and his Death Eaters and was not intimidated by the Spanish. Instead, they pelted them with countless curses instead of freezing in fear or headlessly running away.

A line of ritual stones might not be the best cover, but they kept thirty yards of open space between the entrance and the Brits. Two of the attackers tried to charge them head-on and quickly fell to concentrated spellfire. Their companions, on the other hand, were smarter and made use of the distraction. They advanced along the walls of the cave, which forced Harry and Tonks to split up or be outflanked.

Curses flew back and forth, bouncing off protective spells or being deflected into the ground. His shield took a battering as Harry tried to keep some distance between him and the Spaniards. He inched back, along the wall never straying far from it as it kept his right side save until he found a cluster of rocks to hide behind.

Clad in white with red robes, two wizards pressed forwards to his previous, scarce cover, making it quite easy for Harry to hit them with a volley of stunners and tie them up afterwards. However, distracted by the pair, he did not notice another witch slip past through the lower level of the ritual circle. A yellow spell came within inches of him and the follow-up curse slammed into the basalt pillar.

There was a loud bang and something heavy hit him square between the shoulder blades. Falling forwards, another chunk of stone dropped on Harry and the air was squeezed out of his lungs again. The next thing he knew, dust was everywhere, he could barely breathe and the air smelt like an old cellar. He tried to get up despite the pain in his knee but didn't get further than swaying badly when another curse connected. There was a blinding pain from his hip down the ankle and Harry went down for good. He fell forwards, onto the overthrown runestone in front of him and, despite the pain, clutched its edge with his left hand.

Through all of this, he had somehow managed to keep hold of his wand. _His_ last opponent learned when she was slammed against the nearest wall and did not rise again. However, just as he slid down the pillar, he saw another red robe out of the corner of his eye.

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks considered herself a capable duelist. While nowhere near her mother or even her aunt, she could hold her own against most people. Bellatrix had knocked her out fairly quickly, but by then, Jugson and Yaxley had fallen to her wand. Yet no matter how good she was at duelling, it was not enough to take on a dozen people and swat they aside as only Voldemort and Dumbledore could.

The Spanish didn't seem to be very good or organised, but they still had her badly outnumbered. No matter how many went down, there were always two or three pressing the attack. And, as the saying went, _quantity was a quality all on its own_.

Curses flew back and forth, the smell of ozone lingered in the air and the dust made it more and more difficult to see anything. In the spellfire's bright flashes, most of her opponents looked younger than her. A bunch of rookies, probably on their first field assignment. No one of them was giving orders, which meant that their leader was out of the fight or completely incompetent.

Tonks was able to take down four, but had to trade space for safety and jumped down to the lowest level, where the. Harry seemed to be doing alright, at least no Spaniards were coming from his side, and the doctor threw the occasional spell in their direction, which wasn't particularly effective on its own but distracted them enough to make a difference.

There was a moment of calm which Nym used to pile some of the rubble into a heap to cover her right side, but it wasn't tall enough to really hide behind. She was a little surprised when Sinclair caught her and one wizard on the other side with his pants down because the metamorph hadn't even noticed that he was there. He was hit by a mint-green light and his momentum carried him over the edge and down towards Tonks makeshift barricade.

A stunner brought her attention back to the task at hand and a flurry of spells erupted from her wand. One man fell when a pair of cutting curses connected, but a brunette witch blocked one and deflected three more.

* * *

Harry gasped for air as he watched Dora move with a grace and fluidity he had not even considered possible. She wove her body between the purple and scarlet blurs, jumped over stones and rolled out of the way of incoming spells, all while throwing curses at the Spanish. And all he could do was cling to a stone, his left arm limp, his right leg useless and burning with pain. He still had his wand, but using it would mean letting go and falling down.

The fight was not like the duel between Dumbledore or Voldemort. There were no statues coming to life, no torrents of fire sweeping the room or waves of dust and debris crashing into magnificent shields. Outside of the fluidity Tonks demonstrated, it was not that different from the duels in the DA, just with a deadlier spell selection. Then again, it would probably take years until he could move like her, nevermind the myriad of curses she was throwing around.

One wizard, however, had kept his head down and used the chaos of battle to sneak around the action and behind Nym. Harry saw the danger and shot a piercing curse at the man. But because he was barely holding onto the pillar, the spell went high, he lost his grip and slid back down to the ground while loosing a stunner. It also missed, but at least the man decided to make sure Harry was dealt with instead of falling into Tonks' back.

Crouching behind the runestone, the Gryffindor was reminded of the last time he had been hiding behind a rock, shortly after Voldemort's resurrection. Unlike in Little Hangleton however, Harry was not awaiting death at the hands of his parents' murderer, but merely bode his time until the man came closer. Staying still was a welcome respite for his burning lungs as much as for the aching shoulders.

The desire to remain hidden did as much to slow his movements as the pain, but eventually, Harry managed to roll into a position where he could get the first curse in. This wouldn't be the time for stunners, he had to go for something more destructive. That sectumsempra spell from the Price's book perhaps, or maybe a blasting curse. At that distance, he wouldn't have to worry that he'd miss and bring down the cave on them at least. Footsteps came closer and, for a split-second, they locked eyes. In the dark, it was difficult to say if his hair and beard were red or brown, but the man was shocked to stare at a glowing wand before he was thrown backwards with a scream.

* * *

This was costing her time she didn't have. Tonks had found the one skilled witch in the Spanish lot and did so in the worst possible way. Moody had told her not to worry about collateral damage since any sane bystander would run once the curses started flying. But he hadn't considered the possibility of burying himself under countless tons of rock, which was severely limiting her spell selection at the moment. Which, in turn, meant that she couldn't deal with the Spaniards as she was used to. When the witch finally went down to a barrage of piercing curses, the other three Spaniards had her on the back foot, her back to a higher step and with no more cover nearby. The fighting had driven her through half the cave and almost to the doctor's tent.

If it came down to it, she could probably hold off the trio as long as they stuck to jinxes and curses. On the other hand, if they were smart and used transfiguration, or moved to encircle her, it would be a very different story. And it would take a lot longer to climb out of the pit than for a spell to be cast. However, that question would forever remain theoretical since Sinclair chose that moment to send a pair of stunners and ended the Mexican standoff. One spell connected while the other distracted the remaining two assailants enough for Tonks to take them down as well.

Panting heavily, dripping with sweat and sore all over, she tried to catch her breath in case another Spaniard was lurking somewhere. However, much to her dismay, Harry couldn't hold on any longer and slid down the broken pillar he had been leaning onto. He hit the ground and, in the absence of spellfire, his grunt of pain echoed through the cave far louder than it should have.

* * *

Tonks crouched in front of her boyfriend and fumbled with her wand holster until she pulled out and uncorked a small phial. With shaking hands, she gave it to Harry. "Drink!"

"What's inside?"

"Painkiller potion. Works way better than any Muggle alternative, but they're useless for a hangover."

He eyed the black ampoule and a citrusy scent mixed with the dust in the air. Harry thought that he might have finally found a potion which actually tasted good. That was until the force of a thousand lemons burned his tongue.

"Should've warned you, 's an acquired taste," the metamorph chuckled as she ran her wand over his leg. "I need more light."

After those mumbled words, she raised her wand and, one by one, a stream of glowing bubbles came forth and floated upwards. Once it was bright enough to actually see colours clearly, Tonks resumed her spellwork. "I can patch this up for now, but you'll need to see a healer once we're back."

"Just do it. I - there might be more of these tossers coming."

"This doesn't look too bad, but you'll have to remove and regrow those bones once we are in safety." Her touch was gentle and the worried expression made Harry feel guilty for getting cursed in the first place. He wanted to tell her that it was alright, that he would be fine, but it would be rather silly coming from his position. It was odd to feel his bones shift without an ounce of pain since he was usually unconscious when someone was mending his bones.

* * *

The metamorph didn't stop her spellwork until she was satisfied with the results. She vanished dried blood and moved his leg to see if it could move, if she could poke it without pain. "Now turn around so I can look at your back."

"Were they after me again?"

"No Hon, I didn't understand much of what that cunt proclaimed, but neither of us were mentioned at all. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"But we did save the princess - the Doctor, so we were in the right place - Why am I feeling so silly?"

"That are magical painkillers. Muggle ones work by blocking something in your brain, magical ones turn pain into a different feeling. Don't ask me how that works, if I never have to look at a Potion book it will be too soon."

"Yes - Snape is a bitch. Nym, did you - did you - you know that you were really hot out there? Like an angel of death, a - how did Mione call them - a Valkyrie. My Valkyrie - " Harry quietly babbled on, his eyes growing heavy until Tonks control broke. They were in a cave with dozens of people in various states of injury, she had most certainly killed a few of their assailants and yet she couldn't help but laugh at his slurred confession.

Harry's shoulder blades were littered with small scratches, bruising and might be cracked, but as far as she could tell, his spine was not injured. Tonks healed the wounds and popped his left arm back in, but what he needed was bedrest and a proper hospital because field healing only could do so much.

Once Harry's back was taken care of and his shirt roughly mended, the metamorph noticed the sniffles coming from further down the ritual pit. She was not surprised to find Sinclair next to the body of her dead friend, her hand outstretched and yet an inch away from the corpse as if touching him would be the act which made his death definitive. Tonks felt uneasy watching the woman whom she had treated less than kindly in the heat of the battle. She should have a friend to talk to, a partner or maybe a family member, not two strangers who came for her professional expertise. Yet the strangers would have to do for now.

"Look, I know I've been quite a bitch. For what 's worth, I'm sorry. But we have been through a similar mess before, and I really tried to avoid a repeat - Only for Harry to end up hurt worse this time."

Sinclair gave a bitter smile which didn't reach her bloodshot eyes in return. "And I have to thank you. Without your help, those people would have taken me, or worse. Not that I can really imagine worse right now."

"We will have to leave here soon."

"I know. I have to find Quintain, to warn him if nothing else," was the flat reply. "And perhaps find out what THIS WAS ALL ABOUT! Why people come to my dig-site only to kill my friend and tried to do the same to me."

Her last sentence turned into a shirl rant and Tonks winced at the tone. It would be much easier if she could get them all out of that cave before the Doctor broke down

"That doesn't sound like it can be done via owl. We'll come with you, but I've to get Harry to a proper healer first. I can patch him up well enough, but I've worked for the MLE, not St Mungos."

"And I will need to sort out this mess. What about them?" Sinclair asked with venom and a nod towards the fallen.

Tonks let her eyes wander through the cave and surveyed the carnage she had caused. Once the heat of the battle had passed, it became apparent that there were only around a dozen Spaniards there, even though their number had appeared much larger when the spells were flying. Not one moved, about half had their blood pooling beneath them and quite a few limbs had been severed. Oddly enough, the walls seemed to glow dimly and thin red lines spread out from the bodies of the fallen, some straight, others matching the complex shapes on the enchanted ceiling. She had seen worse sights during her work for the Ministry, had taken lives before, but never caused such a bloodbath herself. And yet, other than some lingering anger about Harry's injuries, she felt nothing while looking at the destruction all around.

"Leave them. We won't kill them, but there's no way we could arrest them and I'd rather get away from here before anyone decides to come looking for them."

* * *

"Did you find the scroll?"

"Yes Master, it was part of a larger collection and the owner was - unwilling to part with it."

"Was the matter resolved?"

"His shop in Galway, as well as his wife, suffered a series of unfortunate accidents. The entire collection is at your disposal."

"I have to admit, I have been a little negligent in my duties. Britain shall be reminded why they were right to fear me before that unfortunate setback, and you have given me the perfect tool to do so. Well done Rookwood, you will be handsomely rewarded for your service."

"Thank you, my Lord!"

* * *

 **AN:**

As you can see, this story is not abandoned. I was just really dissatisfied with the first chapter and rewrote it a couple of times to get rid of the shade thrown at Dumbledore and Lupin and remove the massive wall of exposition. I also clarified the love potions mentioned so that it is no longer Chekhov's gun but a simple way to resolve that arc from HBP within a few lines.

Writing grief and emotional trauma is difficult because everyone reacts differently. Some people break down, some act as if nothing is amiss (or try to pretend that this is the case), some get angry or depressed. I hope that Sinclair's reaction was a believable mix.

Also, I hope that the fight was not too bad. I am not going to lie, it was the main reason why this took so long. Over the past few months, I realised that I can write larger battles reasonably well, but small scale actions with limited points of view aren't my forte. It would perhaps have been easier to change the entire outline and set up a situation where the location wouldn't limit possible tactics that much, but in the end, the location was too useful for other stuff to change it. Also, not giving Harry and Tonks the advantage of the entrance chokepoint would have meant dumbing them down for more drama/tension, and detesting that is one of my prime motivations for writing.


End file.
